Happy Wednesday

Today’s Brew is a House blend.

A House in Turmoil

The People’s House was more like Animal House Tuesday with the battle over whether to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy. In a 216-210 vote, with all the Democrats siding with the half-dozen Republicans who wanted McCarthy removed, McCarthy was removed as Speaker of the House. It’s the first time in our history a Speaker has been forced out by a motion to vacate the seat. The rebellion against McCarthy was led by firebrand Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz.

Republicans voting against McCarthy believe he has violated the terms of an agreement that gave him the votes to be speaker in January, with his stop-gap deal with Democrats to keep the government open mostly on their terms being the last straw.

Said Rep. Bob Good of Virginia:

The speaker committed to cutting spending back to pre-COVID levels. … He committed to bringing a balanced budget to the floor, which he still has not done, even though it’s now October. There are other tenets of that agreement [with which] he failed to comply. He committed to bringing all 12 appropriations bills to the floor for a vote well before the Sept. 30 deadline. He failed to do that.”

(And what of the promise to release the J6 tapes?) Even some Freedom Caucus members who aren’t happy with McCarthy voted against the motion to vacate, arguing now is not the time. That Republicans need to be focused on fighting issues like illegal immigration, inflation and crime. But in the end, about 95% of the GOP Congress hung with McCarthy.

Daily Signal offers more details.

By the way, Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to three felony gun charges yesterday. Why do we mention it here? One of the conditions of Biden’s release is he has to seek employment. Well, there’s a job open in the House. Actually, another name being floated for real is Former President Trump. One doesn’t have to be a Member of Congress to be Speaker. The chances it ends up being Trump? About the same as NY Attorney General Letitia James being invited to Trump Tower for tea.

In all seriousness, Fox News late Monday cited sources as saying popular Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise is asking for support to be the next Speaker.

House Member in Danger in Deadly D.C.

The House already had seen its share of drama this week when Texas Democrat Henry Cuellar was carjacked at gunpoint Monday night by three suspects about a mile from the U.S. Capitol. Thankfully, Cuellar was unhurt. Carjackings in the federal city have skyrocketed this year, according to the Washington Examiner. Doubled, in fact, over last year, with 753 as of Tuesday.

Still, nearly 200 Democrats voted earlier this year against a measure that would have supported city efforts to toughen the penalties for carjacking.

Cuellar talked about the incident Tuesday.

They came out of nowhere and they pointed guns at me. I do have a black belt, but I recognize when you got three, three guns, yeah, I looked at one with a gun another with a gun, no one behind me. So they said they wanted my car, I said, ‘Sure.’ You got to keep calm under those situations and then they took off. They recovered the car, they recovered everything. What really got me upset was they took my sushi.

Why? CNN Misreads Study to Equate Yelling at a Child With Sexual Abuse

You’d think a news network that’s seen a run of employees busted on child porn and sex charges would be a bit careful when dealing with child sex abuse. But alas, CNN has its agenda.

CNN ran a story claiming “Parents shouting at children can be as harmful as sexual or physical abuse, study finds.” The study in the Journal of Child Abuse & Neglect does no such thing. It merely, if importantly, outlines the harm of Childhood Verbal Abuse, and calls for CVA to be given its own separate category of maltreatment. (Currently it’s housed with Emotional Abuse.)

As Not the Bee reports, critics are wondering why would CNN try to downplay the sexual abuse of children?

Praise God: Abducted 9-Year-Old New York Girl Found Safe, Abductor Apprehended.

Charlotte Sena is safe. Her alleged abductor behind bars. The 9-year-old had disappeared Saturday while on a bike ride during a family camping trip in upstate New York. When searchers came upon her bike, fears grew she had been kidnapped.

Fortunately, her abductor was brazen and foolish, coming by the Sera family home early Monday morning to drop off an apparent ransom note. Fingerprints on the note led police to the trailer of 46-year-old Craig R. Ross. Authorities busted in and found Sera stashed in a camper cabinet. According to New York State Police, She is “safe and in good health.”

BREAKING: Mug shot released of Craig Ross, arrested for the kidnapping of Charlotte Sena, age 9, at a New York state park

She went off to ride her bike while camping and her bike was later found by parents

Charlotte was found locked in a cabinet in his camper pic.twitter.com/0Ps5ZBDjBk

— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) October 3, 2023

A neighbor of Ross talked to Fox News about the SWAT team raid and the aftermath:

During the raid, I caught a glimpse of her face and I said that’s her. She’s in there. And then I saw her getting wheeled into the ambulance. I just wanted to hug her and hold her until her mom came to get her and tell her she’s safe. She became like everyone’s child. Everyone in the area loves her and wanted her to come home. And the police did too. You can see and hear them exhale. They were high-fiving with smiles. It was an amazing outcome.

Ross has been charged with kidnapping in the first degree, with an attempt to collect a ransom. State Police say more charges are expected.

Charlotte’s Aunt Jené said, “Thank God, the FBI, New York State Police, all the multiple agencies, friends, family, volunteers who worked tirelessly. God is Good.”

Fighting for God and Children: Arizona School Board Member Sues After Being Blocked From Reading Bible Verses in Meetings

Like they say, what happens in Peoria…

A school board member in Arizona is suing after being forced to stop quoting scriptures during meetings.

Heather Rooks began serving on the Peoria (AZ) Unified School District’s Governing Board in January. During public hearings she would open her comments with a bit of scripture. She says she did it, “to be encouraging to myself and many in attendance.”

Naturally, atheist groups came after Rooks for “unconstitutional proselytizing.” And the legal counsel for the board sent notice to members not to “pray or recite scripture during Board meetings.”

Rooks kept reciting short scriptures and getting grief for it, including threats from the Freedom from Religion Foundation to bankrupt the city.

Finally, according to the suit, after “months of sustained external pressure from outside activist groups and internal pressure from the Board itself, Rooks felt compelled to stop quoting scripture in her Board comments.”

First Liberty Institute is representing Rooks and says the lawsuit aims to “vindicate her statutory and constitutional rights as a Board member and citizen and to dispel the confusion that has regrettably clouded a practice as old as the Republic itself.”

To Rooks we quote back the scripture she herself shared at her first board meeting in February.

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)

Along The Stream

Powerful, powerful reporting and plea on Ukraine from Jason Jones: “Ukrainians Deserve Deserve Better Than a Choice of Satanists: Speak Up for Peace NOW.”

The Stream‘s Nancy Flory shares on an innovative and creative way to share the Bible: “Eddie’s Amazing Adventures, a Series of Book for Young Children, Teaches Lessons Little Ones Can Understand.”

Al Perrotta is the Managing Editor of The Stream, chief barista for The Brew and co-author, with John Zmirak, of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration. You can follow him at @StreamingAl at GETTR, Gab, Parler, and now at TRUTH Social.