Aftermath of the Notre Dame de Paris Fire, AG Barr Wipes the Smiles Off Anti-Trump Media Faces, and It Is Holy Thursday and the Eve of Passover

HOLY THURSDAY, GOOD FRIDAY, AND PASSOVER. And the Mueller Report. It is a strange mix of news today, with everything from a deranged attempt to take gasoline into St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City to terrorist rumors swirling around the Notre Dame de Paris fire to the immensely anticipated Mueller Report on the 2106 presidential campaign and the infamous "collusion" charge levied -- and still being levied by Democrats -- against President Trump. • • • THE AFTERMATH OF THE NOTRE DAME DE PARIS FIRE. The Catholic News Agency (CNA) reported on Wednesday that President Trump and Pope Francis spoke on the phone Wednesday afternoon, with the President pledging to assist with the rebuilding of Notre Dame de Paris. Sarah Huckabee Sanders released a statement about the call : “Today, President Donald J. Trump spoke with His Holiness Pope Francis. The President offered his condolences for the destruction of Notre Dame Cathedral, one of Europe’s most important religious structures.” President Trump was also reported to have commented on the Cathedral’s “amazing beauty and great symbolism.” But, the phone call also served as an opportunity for the President and the Pope to speak about the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, and how to best assist its people during the current political crisis. CNA said that : "A large and growing number of nations have refused to recognize the legitimacy of the result, and the Vatican has rebuffed invitation by the dictator to mediate in the dispute with his opponents." President Trump tweeted that the call with the pope as a “wonderful conversation,” adding that he wished the pontiff a Happy Easter. CNA added that : "Alessandro Gisotti, interim director of the Holy See Press Office, confirmed the call on Twitter. He said that Trump 'expressed to the Pope his closeness, in the name of the American people.' ” • President Trump spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday, expressing condolences over the tragedy of the fire and offering American help. • And, in age marked by "copycat" follow-ons by deranged individuals to world disasters, CNA's Christine Rousselle reported that : "A man is in custody after he attempted to bring containers of gasoline into St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City Wednesday night. A spokesperson from the Archdiocese of New York told CNA that 'the individual was stopped as he tried to come into the cathedral' before he was turned over to the police....Police said he had a car nearby to escape the scene of the cathedral. According to the NYPD, the man had four gallons of gasoline, two cans of lighter fluid, and two lighters with him when he attempted to enter the cathedral. He was prevented from entering by cathedral security, but while speaking with security personnel, some gasoline did spill onto the floor. NBC New York identified the man as Marc Lamparello, whom police have said is 37-years-old and from Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey. When questioned by police as to why he was attempting to bring containers of gasoline into New York City’s largest Catholic church, Lamparello gave 'inconsistent answers.' Deputy NYPD Commission John Miller told reporters Wednesday night the man eventually told police he was 'cutting through the cathedral to get to Madison Avenue; that his car had run out of gas.' After police inspected his minivan, and discovered that it was not out of gas, he was taken into custody. Lamparello is thought to be 'mentally disturbed,' police sources said....Police have said thet have not established a motive, and have not yet charged the man with a crime. Lamparello was described as being 'known to police.'....On Tuesday, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York City expressed concern for the safety of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, which, like Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, also has a wooden roof. 'I thought of St. Patrick’s. I said, ‘Oh my Lord, are we safe?’ said Dolan of the Paris fire. St. Patrick’s Cathedral recently underwent a $177 million restoration project, which included new fire safety features. 'Thank God the FDNY has been extraordinarily vigilant and helpful, because we’ve got a wooden roof too,' said Dolan." • In these "copycat" times, it might be better for the ever-effusive Cardinal Dolan to be more circumspect about St. Patrick's Cathedral. • And, almost as soon as the fire started at Notre Dame de Paris, rumors of a terrorist act emerged. The teaparty.org site reported Tuesday that Infowars said : "Fox News host Shepard Smith abruptly cut off a French government official describing the burning of the Notre Dame cathedral after he suggested that the blaze may not have been accidental. 'I would tell you something, even if nobody died, it’s like a 9/11, the French 9/11,' French official Philippe Karsenty [NOTE : a media analyst, founder of the watchdog Media-Ratings, center-right elected local councillor of Neuilly-sur-Seine near Paris] -- said of the historic cathedral’s burning on Monday. 'And it’s a big shock. I mean, this church was there for more than 850 years, even the Nazis didn’t dare to destroy it.' Karsenty then explained the routine Islamic attacks against churches throughout France, and alluded that the media is spreading the 'politically correct' narrative that the cathedral’s burning is accidental before being suddenly cut off by Smith. 'And you need to know that for the past year we’ve had churches desecrated each and every week in France. All over France. Of course you will hear the stories about the political correctness which will tell you that it’s probably an accident --- '.... Another Fox host, Neil Cavuto, reportedly abruptly cut off the Catholic League president Bill Donahue for insinuating the fire was intentionally caused. • Infowars said : "The notion that the Notre Dame blaze could have been started by arsonists was first reported by local cathedral workers. 'A Jesuit friend in Paris who works in #NotreDame told me cathedral staff said the fire was intentionally set,' reported Time columnist Christopher J. Hale. It’s not outside the realm of possibility to deduce arson as the cause of the fire. As we reported, anti-Christian attacks in France have been on the rise following the European Union’s decision to flood the continent with millions of migrants in 2015." • Gatestone Institute's Raymond Ibrahim, who follows Christian attacks and church desecration in Europe, wrote on April 14 : "In Germany, four separate churches were vandalized and/or torched in March alone. 'In this country,' PI-News [NOTE : PI-News is 'Politically Incorrect News; a mainly German-language counter-jihad political blog that focuses on topics related to immigration, multiculturalism and Islam in Germany and Western societies] explained, 'there is a creeping war against everything that symbolizes Christianity : attacks on mountain-summit crosses, on sacred statues by the wayside, on churches...and recently also on cemeteries.' In France, two churches are desecrated every day on average. According to PI-News, 1,063 attacks on Christian churches or symbols (crucifixes, icons, statues) were registered in France in 2018. This represents a 17% increase compared to the previous year (2017), when 878 attacks were registered....Among some of the recent desecrations in France, the following took place in just February and March : Vandals plundered Notre-Dame des Enfants Church in Nîmes and used human excrement to draw a cross there; consecrated bread was found thrown outside among garbage. The Saint-Nicolas Church in Houilles was vandalized on three separate occasions in February; a 19th century statue of the Virgin Mary, regarded as 'irreparable,' was 'completely pulverized,' said a clergyman; and a hanging cross was thrown to the floor. Vandals desecrated and smashed crosses and statues at Saint-Alain Cathedral in Lavaur, and mangled the arms of a statue of a crucified Christ in a mocking manner. In addition, an altar cloth was burned. Arsonists torched the Church of St. Sulpice in Paris soon after midday mass on Sunday, March 17. [St. Sulpice is the acting cathedral of Paris following the Notre Dame de Paris fire and was the site of the special service for Notre Dame on Wednesday, attended by France's first lady.] In virtually every instance of church attacks, authorities and media obfuscate the identity of the vandals. In those rare instances when the Moslem (or 'migrant') identity of the destroyers is leaked, the desecraters are then presented as suffering from mental health issues. 'Hardly anyone writes and speaks about the increasing attacks on Christian symbols. There is an eloquent silence in both France and Germany about the scandal of the desecrations and the origin of the perpetrators....Not a word, not even the slightest hint that could in anyway lead to the suspicion of migrants...It is not the perpetrators who are in danger of being ostracized, but those who dare to associate the desecration of Christian symbols with immigrant imports. They are accused of hatred, hate speech and racism." -- PI News, March 24, 2019." The full Gatestone article is available at < https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14044/europe-churches-vandalized >. • On the other side of the 'terrorist' argument is the fact that there have been 4 French cathedral and historic building fires in the last 50 years that started in the timber roofs during renovation work on the timbers. Some expert architects and insurers say the problem is probably that modern workers use soldering techniques to attach metal supports and reinforcements to the ancient wood timbers...the heat can get to 270°C...it causes a pyrolytic effect inside the timber that propagates slowly over time without exterior evidence and when the smoke appears it is too late to stop the fire...there is a lot of talk now about completely stopping such renovation work on the timbers. We might well ask why such renovations are allowed to continue !! • • • THE MUELLER REPORT. The other big news story on Thursday is the release to Congress and the public of the Mueller Report. Expectation has built over the past month following the initial four-page report issued by Attorney General Bill Barr that said special counsel Robert Mueller had found no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign. Barr noted that Mueller did not provide a conclusion as to charges that President Trump obstructed justice during Mueller's investigation, but AG Barr determined, as is his legal obligation as AG, that there were no grounds to prosecute the President for obstruction. At 9:30 AM ET on Thursday, the waiting was over. AG Barr held a press conference prior to releasing the Mueller Report. Barr was accompanied by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversaw the Mueller investigation after the special counsel's appointment in May 2017. • Fox News said prior to the press conference that : "Congressional Democrats have criticized the timing of the news conference, accusing Barr of trying to spin the report and conducting a media campaign on behalf of Trump....Democrats have signaled that the release will be just the beginning of a no-holds-barred showdown with the Trump administration over the extent of report redactions, as well as whether the president obstructed justice during the Russia investigation." • At the press conference, as reported by TheHill : "Attorney General William Barr offered a robust defense of President Trump....Barr said the Report...offered a vindication of Trump and that on obstruction it was important to consider the 'context' of Trump’s actions analyzed in Mueller’s final report. Barr said that Trump faced an 'unprecedented situation' in the course of Mueller’s investigation as well as 'relentless speculation' in the media surrounding Trump’s own possible culpability in Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. Barr also said that Mueller's report acknowledges the existence of 'substantial evidence' showing Trump was frustrated by a 'sincere belief that the investigation was undermining his presidency, propelled by his political opponents, and fueled by illegal leaks.' And Barr described the evidence of 'non-corrupt' motives by Trump as weighing 'heavily against' allegations Trump sought to impede the probe, asserting that Trump did not act in a way that deprived Mueller of documents or witness testimony and that the White House cooperated with the probe. 'President Trump faced an unprecedented situation. As he entered into office, and sought to perform his responsibilities as President, federal agents and prosecutors were scrutinizing his conduct before and after taking office and the conduct of some of his associates....At the same time, there was relentless speculation in the news media about the President’s personal culpability. Yet, as he said from the beginning, there was in fact no collusion.' " • AG Barr said he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein analyzed the evidence laid out in the report and determined that Trump’s actions did not amount to an obstruction-of-justice offense. TheHill wrote : "Proving a defendant committed obstruction requires showing that the individual acted with a 'corrupt intent' -- and as a result is often difficult to prove. Barr said Thursday that he and Rosenstein 'disagreed' with some of Mueller’s 'legal theories' surrounding obstruction and believed some of the episodes analyzed in the report did not constitute criminal obstruction ["as a matter of law," i.e., that there is insufficient evidence to reasonably support the case, a finding usually made by the judge] but he noted that they did 'not rely solely on that in making our decision.' Barr suggested that the evidence fell well short of showing Trump acted with corrupt intent, describing the White House as having 'fully cooperated with the special counsel’s investigation. Trump and his lawyers provided documents as well as written answers to Mueller on the topic of Russian interference and contacts between the Trump campaign and Russians. At the same time, the President took no act that in fact deprived the Special Counsel of the documents and witnesses necessary to complete his investigation. Apart from whether the acts were obstructive, this evidence of non-corrupt motives weighs heavily against any allegation that the President had a corrupt intent to obstruct the investigation.' ” • Mueller’s report analyzes 10 episodes in the obstruction inquiry, according to Barr, but a review of these 10 episodes will have to wait until we have read the full Report, which is now available at < https://www.justice.gov/storage/report.pdf >. • Attorney General Barr's decision to hold a press conference ahead of the report's release sparked controversy among Democrats, who claimed it was a move to shape the narrative surrounding the report. Some Democrats demanded Barr cancel the press conference. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer issued a joint statement : "Attorney General Barr’s regrettably partisan handling of the Mueller report, including his slanted March 24th summary letter, his irresponsible testimony before Congress last week, and his indefensible plan to spin the report in a press conference later this morning -- hours before he allows the public or Congress to see it -- have resulted in a crisis of confidence in his independence and impartiality. We believe the only way to begin restoring public trust in the handling of the Special Counsel’s investigation is for Special Counsel Mueller himself to provide public testimony in the House and Senate as soon as possible.” • • • DEMOCRATS GOT THEIR SPECIAL COUNSEL, BUT NOW THEY WILL REWRITE HIS REPORT. In an unrelated but relevant article in Thursday's American Thinker, Dr; Don Boys writes : "Current politicians' dishonorable commitment to fake news, false accusations, and fraudulent posturing for the cameras is a fulfillment of Orwell's fiction of decades ago. George Orwell's declaration in his 1949 classic, Nineteen Eighty-Four, was, 'Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.' That attack on truth has been considered fiction, but distorting history is a fact that is accelerating daily. Ashamed of the past and fearful of the future, desperate, duplicitous, and disgusting politicians have destroyed the historical record to make them look less unscrupulous and to confuse, corrupt, and control each generation. A rewrite of history is in the making as I write. It has happened and has been accelerating since the beginning of time." • • • DEAR READERS, while Dr. Boys is writing about the Progressive socialist Democrat effort to rewrite American history, he could have been writing about what is sure to happen with the Mueller Report. Congressional Democrats will prod witnesses, dig for quotes taken out of context, and ask Mueller to re-explain what he has already explained to AG Barr, who is the only person legally entitled to the explanation and the only person legally authorized to release that explanation. • In Holy Week, we are reminded that if someone is determined to lie or betray a trust, EVEN the daily presence of the Son of God with that person will not make a difference. As we often say about alcoholics, they must want to be alcohol-free, and nobody can do that for them but themselves. • As we read the biblical account of today in Holy Week, we note that Passover 2019 corresponds with Good Friday, beginning on the evening of Friday, April 19, and ending on the evening of Saturday, April 27. So, let's consider the Old Testament's description of Passover that is, in fact, the First Reading for Holy Thursday, in Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14 -- "The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 'This month shall be for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month they shall take every man a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household; and if the household is too small for a lamb, then a man and his neighbor next to his house shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old; you shall take it from the sheep or from the goats; and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs in the evening. Then they shall take some of the blood, and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat them. They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. In this manner you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD's passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments : I am the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you, upon the houses where you are; and wen I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall fall upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations you shall observe it as an ordinance for ever.' " • And, the Gospel for Holy Thursday in John 13:1-15 for the Washing of Feet -- "Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. And during supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper, laid aside his garments, and girded himself with a towel. Then he poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded. He came to Simon Peter; and Peter said to him, 'Lord, do you wash my feet?' Jesus answered him, 'What I am doing you do not know now, but afterward you will understand.' Peter said to him, 'You shall never wash my feet.' Jesus answered him, 'If I do not wash you, you have no part in me.' Simon Peter said to him, 'Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!' Jesus said to him, 'He who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but he is clean all over; and you are clean, but not every one of you.' For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, 'You are not all clean.' When he had washed their feet, and taken his garments, and resumed his place, he said to them, 'Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you." • And the recounting of the Betrayal and Crucifixion in Luke 22:39-71 -- "Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, 'Pray that you will not fall into temptation.' He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 'Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.' An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 'Why are you sleeping?' he asked them. 'Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.' While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus asked him, 'Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?' When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, 'Lord, should we strike with our swords?' And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus answered, 'No more of this!' And he touched the man’s ear and healed him. Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, 'Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour -- when darkness reigns.' Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, 'This man was with him.' But he denied it. 'Woman, I don’t know him,' he said. A little later someone else saw him and said, 'You also are one of them.' 'Man, I am not!' Peter replied. About an hour later another asserted, 'Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.' Peter replied, 'Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!' Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him : 'Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.' And he went outside and wept bitterly. The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. They blindfolded him and demanded, 'Prophesy! Who hit you?' And they said many other insulting things to him. At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and the teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. 'If you are the Messiah,' they said, 'tell us.' Jesus answered, 'If I tell you, you will not believe me, and if I asked you, you would not answer. But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.' They all asked, 'Are you then the Son of God?' He replied, 'You say that I am.' Then they said, 'Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips.' " Luke 23:1-55 -- "Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, 'We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.' So Pilate asked Jesus, 'Are you the king of the Jews?' 'You have said so,' Jesus replied. Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, 'I find no basis for a charge against this man.' But they insisted, 'He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.' On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. When he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time. When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort. He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. That day Herod and Pilate became friends -- before this they had been enemies. Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, and said to them, 'You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. Therefore, I will punish him and then release him.' But the whole crowd shouted, 'Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!' (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.) Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. But they kept shouting, 'Crucify him! Crucify him!' For the third time he spoke to them : 'Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.' But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. So Pilate decided to grant their demand. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will. As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. Jesus turned and said to them, 'Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then ‘they will say to the mountains, 'Fall on us!' and to the hills, 'Cover us!' For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?' Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals -- one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.' And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, 'He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.' The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, 'If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.' There was a written notice above him, which read : this is the king of the jews. One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him : 'Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!' But the other criminal rebuked him. 'Don’t you fear God,' he said, 'since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.' Then he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.' Jesus answered him, 'Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.' It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, 'Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.' When he had said this, he breathed his last. The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, 'Surely this was a righteous man.' When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things. Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment."