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.

Not Dead Yet Attends Bazelon’s 2025 Annual Awards Reception

By Kelly Israel on October 7, 2025   

On September 17, 2025, I was pleased to attend on behalf of Not D[ea]d Yet the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law’s 2025 Annual Awards Reception at the National Press Club. The event was larger than normal. I was surrounded by countless people,  disability rights movement members both well-known and obscure. We had come to celebrate our past and usher in the next chapter of our history.

A recording of the awards ceremony is available at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pV9yDclCuK0 

The event honored first Congressman Steny Hoyer, [pictured above] one of the pioneers who worked to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act - our very own bill of rights in the United States. Hoyer spoke on the circumstances of the ADA’s passage and his debt of gratitude to his mentor. He also spoke of his gratitude towards the thousands of disabled Americans who advocated tirelessly for the bill in the late 1980s and early 90s. 

California National Guard

President Trump on Sunday deployed 300 California National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon defying a federal order blocking the move – as Golden State Gov. Gavin Newsom vowed to sue in response.

“After a federal court blocked his attempt to federalize the Oregon National Guard, Donald Trump is deploying 300 California National Guard personnel into Oregon,” Newson said in a post on X, later calling the order “un-American.”“They are on their way there now. We are taking this fight back to court. The public cannot stay silent in the face of such reckless and authoritarian conduct by the President of the United States.”

Newsom’s fiery threat comes hours after a federal judge temporarily halted the Trump administration from sending 200 Oregon National Guard troops to the “war ravaged” city that has been under siege by anti-ICE agitators for more than 100 straight days. – New York Post

Our Take: A federal judge in Oregon said President Trump can’t deploy the Oregon National Guard to Portland, so the President is sending California National Guard instead.