Issue 2023-19
18208 Preston Road, Ste D9-552
Dallas TX 75252
Read this newsletter in PDF format for greatest clarity. Print out any sections you might want in a power-out situation.
Suddenly there are so many things of great moment happening that I dare not hold a strong opinion yet. From the last three years, I know that We the People have been the unwilling subjects of psychological manipulation, to such a great extent that it is no longer advisable to believe most that we are officially told. The bioweapons forced upon us as “health care” have turned out to be deadly. Ukraine was a front for criminal operations of the most sordid kind. The whole world has been whipped up like a meringue buttercream. Now we have Israel and Hamas thrown at us, and there are too many convenient advantages to the Deep State to swallow it all whole and undigested. From the psy-ops of the last three years, I have learned:
- Things are rarely what they seem at first reporting.
- When an argument relies heavily on emotion, I need to step back until reason ascends.
- Watch those who come speak out the loudest. Those who have sold themselves to evil are a good barometer of un-truth.
Meanwhile, innocent people are still the victims of those who would control world events, and we pray for them… and for us.
Sheryl Collmer, editor
October 15, 2023
sheylc@coracusa.com
From the cockpit of the Subaru
CORAC founder Charlie Johnston travels from coast to coast in his trusty Outback to speak in person to those now weathering the Storm.
A SIGN OF HOPE BLOG
The Simple Truth About Islam
I first posted the following article on November 20, 2015. I caught a lot of flack for it, despite a certain delicacy in my candor. We are governed by unserious people...
more >
REVEILLE EP. 2
Doug Barry
Joe interviews Doug Barry, a long-time self-defense and Christian survival veteran. Doug is a founder of the Be Ready Coalition, and he talks with Joe about better, mental, spiritual and physical preparedness. CORAC and BRC have allied to bring members the BRC program “Indomitable.”
watch >
NEWS
The Synod
If you’ve been reading Cardinal Mueller, Bishop Strickland and the authors of the various dubia, you are inoculated…
more >
A Catholic Gentleman
As hard as it was for me to hear anyone speak civilly about pro-abortion Senator Diane Feinstein… more >
10 News Stories You Didn’t Hear
One more great source of news, because these days, the most important events are the ones… more >
Fall Foraging
Now that the dreadful summer heat has passed, and fall “weeds” are up, it’s time to go out foraging again!… more >
First Things
The most important tool of analysis I have developed is a devotion to what I call “first things,” fundamental principles through which everything I say or do must be vetted before I say or do them. Though this does not eliminate error and contradiction, it dramatically reduces it. A couple of basic examples to start…
God loves us and is good.
All things were made by God.
All things made by God are good.
When you start from these principles, it colors all your thinking and allows you to come up with consistent answers that, though sometimes subtle, are internally coherent.
Are there bad things in the world? Of course. Aren’t these things made by God? Yes, but some are combinations by man of things that are, in themselves, good but combined in a way God does not intend. Others are bad because they are used in a way that God did not intend. Free will gives us moral agency and is one of the primary ways in which we are made in the image and likeness of God. Silly people sometimes ask why evil is allowed to exist at all if God is good. They should rather ask why God values free will so highly that he does not bar the evil that some men choose. It is because He made us to be heirs to the Kingdom – and not mere pets in His household. He is perfectly able to deal with those who abuse their free will by choosing evil at the time He has appointed.
We were made for eternity. This life is just the womb of the eternity where our real lives will play out. All too often, people judge the good by how it affects our standing in this life. If you have internalized the reality that this life is our prelude to eternal life, you become very careful in your judgment of what the good is by what happens here. Instead, you start pondering how different events shape our lives to fit us better for eternity. Think of all the “bad” things that have happened in your life. Then think of how many of them shaped you to be better and more in tune with God. Often, God is toughest with those who are most devoted to Him – because He knows they will take the lesson to grow more in accordance with His will for them.
Want to know why the wicked often seem to prosper? Because God knows they will NOT take the lesson and they are headed for destruction unless they dramatically change their ways anyway. Why bother with them? The gold, power and willfulness they so cherish are not even dross in the Kingdom of heaven. Yet even so, everything God does is calculated to give people opportunity to choose heaven. Thus, when a whole age has gotten shallow and materialistic, God often sends trials and tribulations that more might see that their blessings are not the work of their own hands, but of God’s grace and mercy.
Seek to boil down everything you believe into first things, the fundamental principles you live by. Then live them rigorously. It works in purely temporal analysis, too.
Just two more purely temporal things:
Truth will stand the test of examination.
This entails absolute devotion to free speech. Efforts to curtail free speech are efforts to prevent examination of assertions. Supposedly noble efforts to ban disinformation are simply efforts to suppress examination of favored narratives, for fear that they cannot stand such a test. Where speech is truly free, those who express abhorrent positions discredit themselves. Speech tests are not an expression of confidence, but of cowering fear. This concerns the realm of policy and ideas: trying to color pornography and such under the color of free speech is simply trying to baptize dysfunction under a principle that does not apply. A community may choose to allow such things, but will reap the consequences for that choice.
The iron rule of human behavior and economics is that what you reward, you will get more of and what you punish, you will get less of.
Current leaders who punish initiative and productivity while rewarding sloth reveal their intellectual bankruptcy. They do the same by enabling violent crime while trying to disarm innocent people. They destroy society while claiming enlightenment and charity. These charlatans have their reward, having repudiated what God gave as their birthright.
When trying to make intellectual arguments people are all too often opportunistic in choosing what their weapons will be, choosing planks to win a current dispute that undermine their position in other areas. If you go to first things, rigorously seeking them out and living by them, you develop a system of mind, principle and action that are very difficult to assail. It is a lot of work, but if you want to build a good society, it is indispensable. Building a house is a lot of work – but is a lot more useful and defensible than the pile of lumber that forms its raw material.
Things are about to get a lot harder in this world. Fortify yourself and your family by devoting yourself to first principles, under God.
If communication goes out for any length of time, meet outside your local Church at 9 a.m. on Saturday mornings. Tell friends at Church now, in case you can’t then. CORAC teams will be out looking for people to gather in and work with.
A Sign of Hope Blog
Cast Into the Deep
Tyler, Texas – It is nearly three years since I and a group of CORAC...
The Mission of Christ
Dallas, Texas – I am ashamed. I had a lovely, private group dinner...
The Strickland Saga
Mico, Texas – Early in his pontificate, Pope Francis said he wanted...
Brief Updates
Blessing of the Lost Girls
Some brief thoughts from Charlie Johnston about his follow up dinner in Arizona with one of his favorite authors, J.A. Jance, and the theme of family reconciliation. Run Time: 00h | 9m | 47s
A Game of Baseball
Some brief thoughts from Charlie Johnston about the necessity of rules in baseball, anarchy in this country, and how we get back to something that's rational. Run Time: 00h | 10m | 22s
Reveille Ep. 2
Doug Barry – Keeping It Simple
In Episode 2 of "Reveille," Doug Barry joins Joe Gallagher to share how we're partnering on promoting better mental, physical and spiritual preparedness with the help of BR Coalition's "BREP" and...
NEWS
The Synod
If you’ve been reading Cardinal Mueller, Bishop Strickland and the authors of the various dubia, you are inoculated against much of the foolishness going on in Rome. The Synod is ongoing until October 29, in the frightfully depressing Paul VI Audience Hall, below a questionable modern sculpture of the Resurrection (why does the Vatican commission such horrific works of art?) tricked out with banquet tables to facilitate the “listening process.” I tend to think that even people in love with their own ideas will tire of the interminable “listening” well before the closing ceremonies. It may be that 25 days of sitting in a small group is its own punishment.
Though there is a semi media embargo, there are still trickles of news: both faithful and un-. Sources of the most trustworthy news would be Edward Pentin, Diane Montagna, National Catholic Register (not Reporter), The Catholic Thing and the Catholic Herald in the UK. All these sources are putting out current news and views on the Synod.
- Edward Pentin >
- Diane Montagna on X >
- NCR Special Coverage >
- The Catholic Thing >
- The Catholic Herald >
As of today, the Synod has been in session for 12 days. The Pope had initially imposed a “media fast,” but after strong criticism, it was walked back on the second day, leaving to the judgment of each person whether or not to talk to the media. Last week, a fraternal delegate from Eastern Orthodoxy strongly refuted any similarity of the “synodality” of this “Synod” with the historical Synods of the East. The second week was said to have focused on the expansion of the role of women in the Church, with a female presider, and on “discernment” about homosexual activity and gender ideology. A commission of “experts” was chosen to write the Synthesis when the Synod concludes.
It shocked me that the term “LBGT” has been officially used by the Synod, by those purporting to be Catholic. Careful Catholics never use the alphabet soup designations because they degrade a person’s core identity as a child of God. Sexual confusion or disorder can never be a person’s identity; no more can someone’s core identity be “gossiper” or “atheist.” Those are things we do or errors we fall into, but not our identity. No one working within the genuine Catholic tradition would make that mistake, especially in official documents. They have tipped their hand, again.
Two weeks to go; brace yourself. And pray; nothing is beyond the Holy Spirit, and He will, no doubt, surprise us.
What Can We Do?
Crisis editor Eric Sammons and OnePeterFive editor Timothy Flanders talk about practical things Catholics can do in response to the Synod.
Confused and Confusing
Cardinal Zen of Hong Kong joined four other cardinals in the Dubia released to the public just before the opening of the Synod. Just afterward, the Catholic Herald got this interview with the Cardinal on his views of the Synod, the Dubia and the selection of bishops in China.
Bishop Strickland
Maybe I’m parochial, but until some other bishops come forward as faithfully as Joseph Strickland, I will continue to feature him. Since the last edition of this newsletter, Bishop Strickland has issued two more pastoral letters: on human love and marriage. and on the error of universalism. We are holding our collective breath for the future of the Tyler diocese, and praying more novenas that I can keep up with… and the bishop serenely goes forward, doing what he was commissioned to do: teach, sanctify and govern. He enjoins us to be joyful, receive and adore Jesus in the Eucharist, love Mary and trust God. What else should a bishop say than that?
A Catholic Gentleman
As hard as it was for me to hear anyone speak civilly about pro-abortion Senator Diane Feinstein, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco set a beautiful example of generosity and grace worth emulating. Upon Feinstein’s death, thearchbishop released a statement, not praising her errors, but respecting her as a daughter of God. He told one story that made even me feel a bit more kindly toward her. We need such acts of charity in our society if we are not going to fracture irreparably.
Newsworthy
Sourcing your news has never been more important, with the larger media outlets in league with corporate interests against us. Here’s a new entry on my “Trusted Media” list: Jeff Childers is a Florida attorney who was galvanized into action by the unconstitutionality of mask mandates in 2020. He filed successful lawsuits against masks, vaccines, and the various travesties against J6 defendants, and he started blogging. He’s a Christian, and now a thought leader. If all you read was Jeff’s “Coffee and Covid,” along with the Catholic “Loop,” you’d get most of the relevant and truthful news of the day and save a lot of time!
- Coffee and Covid. You can sign up to receive his daily letter, or catch him on Telegram.
- The Loop. Sign up to get the daily update.
The 10 News Stories You Didn’t Hear This Week
One more great source of news, because these days, the most important events are the ones the media deliberately hides from view. Vigilant Fox publishes a new list each week, with links.
1000 Days in the Gulag
J6 defendant Jake Lang has now been languishing in prison for over 3 years, without trial, much of it in solitary confinement. He was 25 years old on January 6, 2021; he’s now 29. The Gateway Pundit has been attentive, giving the J6’ers a voice in the press. Read more about it here:
Civil War Remedies
Due to hardship, supply chain issues and the yet-future advent of “modern medicine,” people in the 1860s still relied heavily on natural remedies for life-threatening conditions as well as non-critical ailments. Check out these remedies for pain relief, wound healing, gut distress and immune support.
Jase Case Improved
Jase Medical has been mentioned in this newsletter previously, as an avenue of medical preparation. They feature their “Jase Case” of five common antibiotics that could be lifesaving if medical supply chains failed. Now they have added ivermectin, scopolamine, fluconazole and several other handy medications. To order, you fill out a short medical survey which is reviewed by a physician for possible contra-indications. Once you’re cleared, the basic Jase Case can be ordered for $270. Add-ons are individually priced; check the website. Jase will also allow you to stock up on medications you may take long-term, beyond the typical 90 days. This is for emergencies only, and not meant to replace regular medical care.
Fall Foraging
Now that the dreadful summer heat has passed, and fall “weeds” are up, it’s time to go out foraging again!
Check this calendar for common edible and medicinal wild plants >
Always observe the safety protocols for foraging elaborated here >
One of the most common wild foods are acorns. Our CORAC Sustainability team has some ideas about harvesting and using these omnipresent little gems.
Snaring Protein
Snaring is the foraging of the animal world. It’s always heartening to know ways to use what God has provided in nature for our survival. Since snares are indiscriminate, you would use them only knowledgeably and for survival purposes. This is a very detailed article about materials and methods, and the author makes the point that a small game snare can be scaled up to be used as a perimeter alarm for home defense.
The Radio Project – GMRS License
Last edition, I confessed to being a radio dunce, and posted the skeleton plan of our proposed Tyler radio network. From our CORAC Comms team, I learned that it is inadvisable to operate your GMRS radios without the required FCC license. Unlike the ham radio license, you do not have to take a test for GMRS. I tasked my team to get online and get the $35, 10-year license before we start playing radio. It’s actually very easy, but of course… it’s the government, so you have to jump through a few hoops. Here are the steps:
Get FRN – FCC Registration Number
- Register a user name and password on the FCC website (in the box headed “Need A User Name?”)
- Once you’re in, select “Register New FRN”
- Complete the FRN application form.
- Record your FRN when you get it.
Get GMRS license
- Log in with your username and password >
- Click “Apply For A New License”
- Select “ZA – General Mobile Radio (GMRS)” at the bottom of the dropdown
- Answer questions (you are an individual, not an entity and you are registering for an unrestricted license.)
- Enter your personal information, digitally sign and submit application.
Pay fee
- Click FRN Financial
- Complete payment information, along with email address
- When your license arrives to your email, print it out and save.
How to Get Your GMRS License >
By the next edition, I hope to have some solid information on operating the radios. (Remember, this is being written for radio newbies like me.
If you’re more proficient, go straight here >
We will be using Midland GMRS handhelds, which come highly recommended by our Comms team.
The Basic Electricity course on the CORAC website is helpful information for newbies, too.
House Pet Survival Care
Have you considered this aspect of preparedness? Our pets keep us grounded and happy, so don’t forget them!
Care For the Dying
The CORAC Prayer team leaders Sister Bear and Deacon Rick have compiled resources for families dealing with death, especially for times when a priest might not be available. Download and print out.
Not a Vaccine
I hardly need to say to this readership: don’t get any mRNA shots (including flu and covid boosters.) They are not vaccines, never have been, and they are massively destructive. Have you noticed in your circles of friends the more and more frequent prayers for those with cancer? Dr. Ryan Cole, a pathologist whose lab surveys thousands of tissue samples per week, notes that “turbo death” is raging. These new turbo cancers don’t respond to the usual therapies. This article and video might be something you show to anyone who is considering “vaccinating” themselves or their children. Be aware that the pharmaceutical companies have the stated intent of making all vaccines mRNA in the future.
Turbo death from turbo cancers >
Meanwhile, the rate of death from the vaxxx is now estimated at 1 death per 800 injections. With 13.5 billion doses injected around the world, that amounts to nearly 17 million deaths. We are in the middle of a genocide, and it’s not in Gaza; it’s all around us. We are mostly unaware because the media is steadfastly not reporting the massive excess mortality, the turbo cancers and heart attacks, and SADS (sudden adult death syndrome).
Dr. Pierre Kory continues to try hard to get someone in the media to pay attention >
It makes me happy to contemplate the reward that trustworthy docs like Pierre Kory will receive when God dispenses justice. I imagine a parade honoring Dr. McCullough, Dr. Kory, Dr. Bacharit, and all the others who have virtually sacrificed their careers and their lives to save humankind (and truth) in this era.
CORAC WEBSITE
There’s a new resource on our website called The Conversation. This is a posting of particular topics that crop up among the specialty teams. Check out this page to see what’s being discussed >
PRAYER
October Prayer Intentions
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That CORAC members experience the divine efficacy of The Brazen Serpent Prayer and related prayers: “Come, Lord Jesus, purify this food and drink and all I consume in any way. Let it lead me to strength, to apostolate, and to take the next right step; at all times, in all places, and in all situations . . . . The Brazen Serpent Prayer >
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For a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit on our lives as we strive to live the Gospel and be a sign of hope to others
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For CORAC courage, discernment, protection, and grace as our members encounter “many dangers, toils, and snares” in these days
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For fruitful ideas and actions as CORAC members continue to Go Forth, joining together with people of other churches to do good deeds for people in their local communities
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As always, that CORAC members volunteering for all of our committees in all of our regions receive the gifts of creativity, good humor, resilience, camaraderie, and unexpected joy of spirit as we serve the Lord in these days
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That existing and new CORAC members may strongly desire and find the means to participate in financial support for our vital ministries
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For all intentions carried in the hearts o
St. Gabriel, enlighten us.
St. Michael, defend us.
St. Raphael, protect us.
Ave Maria, Stella Maris!
Prayer Hotline
Email prayer requests to the CORAC Prayer Hotline at prayerteams@coracusa.com, and we will post your request (using firstnames only) on the CORAC Prayer Hotline Signal group.
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