Fueled by the Left: Canada’s Churches on Fire

Raymond Ibrahim, original publication:  Oct 5, 2025.

The Stream

In mid-September, two churches in Canada were hit by Islamic extremists. On September 16, Our Lady of the Snows in Colville Lake, Northwest Territories — the community’s only church — was torched to the ground. Just days earlier, vandals had smashed windows and damaged property at Saint Peter and Saint Paul Coptic Orthodox Church in Pointe-Claire, Quebec, while also defacing a nearby convent with graffiti and broken glass. Locals called the attacks “heartbreaking” and “a really big loss to the community.”

Such attacks are common; one of the more notable ones occurred on June 9, 2024, when Toronto’s historic St. Anne’s Anglican Church and its priceless artwork were set ablaze and reduced to ashes. The pastor, Rev. Don Beyers, said his congregation was “greatly devastated”:

I’m crushed, I feel for my people. You can’t imagine what this is like for a church community to come on Sunday morning to find that everything you worked so hard for and done so much for [is] gone in the matter of an hour.

‘Must Stay Gay’ Laws

Jennifer Roback Morse, 10/11/25

A case before the Supreme Court could end the left’s attempt to stifle dissent in the therapist’s office.

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Tuesday in Chiles v. Salazar, a case that could reshape counseling freedom across America. The law at issue is one of several so-called “conversion therapy bans” that restrict what therapists may say to their clients.  

The Ruth Institute calls them what they are: “Must Stay Gay” laws.  These laws silence counselors and harm families, especially young people struggling with trauma, anxiety, and sexual confusion. The question before the court is simple: Does the First Amendment allow a state to dictate which viewpoints a licensed therapist may express?

A Strong Signal from the Court  

The central issue in Chiles is viewpoint discrimination. Colorado’s law allows therapists to affirm a child’s same-sex attraction or gender confusion — but forbids them from helping a client resist or change those feelings.  Justice Samuel Alito captured the absurdity in one hypothetical, which I paraphrase (the whole argument is here):

An adolescent male comes to a licensed therapist; he feels uneasy and guilty about feeling attracted to other boys. He asks the therapist to help him feel better as a gay man. Colorado law permits this. Another adolescent male goes to a licensed therapist and asks him to help him feel less attracted to other boys. Colorado law forbids this.

That’s government picking sides in a moral debate, not equality under the law.

The Fountain Hotel

The Fountain Hotel, a luxury playground for the rich visiting the Yellowstone National Park, was built in 1891 as the largest hotel in the park. It was also believed to be haunted by guests that never left.  

According to Annie Carlson a research coordinator at Yellowstone, the hotel was a ‘cut above the rest.’ which was located just north of Fountain Paint Pot in the Lower Geyser Basin. The three-story structure cost $100,000 to build and could accommodate 350 guests. It boasted 143 rooms, steam heat and baths that used the hot springs water. 

“The hotel was fancy given its rustic surroundings, and guests would wear their finest clothes to regular evening balls,” Carlson said. 

Burger Chain Installs ‘Tallest and Biggest’ American Flags at Restaurants Nationwide

By Naveen Athrappully, updated 10/07/2025

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to prosecute people desecrating the American flag. 

Fast food chain Steak ‘n Shake has started installing large American flags at its outlets across the country, the company said in an Oct. 5 post on X.

“The flag installations have begun at Steak n Shake,” the company said. “Every Steak n Shake is getting the tallest and biggest American flag that local governments will allow! Steak n Shake proudly supports American values and traditions.”

The post went viral, garnering 6.4 million views and nearly 200,000 likes as of 7:19 a.m. ET on Monday.

“I’m ordering from there tomorrow!” billionaire Elon Musk said in a reply to the post.

Steak ‘n Shake, based in Indiana, employs more than 10,000 people according to LinkedIn. As of August, there were 397 Steak ‘n Shake restaurants across 24 states and territories in the United States, according to an Aug. 20 report by data company ScrapeHero.