(  )  Several FBI analysts tied to the creation of a 2023 memo warning of a potential threat from Catholic “violent extremists” have been fired by Director Kash Patel.  The fired employees include four intelligence analysts and a supervisory analyst. The January 2023 intelligence product produced by analysts in the FBI’s Richmond, Virginia, field office emerged as a political flashpoint after it was issued.  Earlier Justice Department investigations into the memo challenged the analytical tradecraft.  The FBI says “investigative activity must not be based solely on the exercise of rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.”

(  )  Even in the midst of Gay Pride Month celebrations, LGBT advocates are in retreat.  There’s been a strong backlash in recent years, especially against the promotion of transgenderism to children.  Many states have banned males from competing in female sports and some have barred sex-change operations on children.  At least nine states have considered resolutions seeking to undo legal recognition of same-sex marriages.  Most would call on the Supreme Court to rethink its 2015 decision recognizing the unions. The measures would not carry the weight of law, but might encourage a new challenge to the high court.

(  )  America is a highly religious nation and it always has been.  When the 13 colonies banded together and declared independence in 1776, there were 3,228 houses of worship.  And the new country was already religiously diverse. Congregationalists led the pack with about 670 congregations, or just over 20 percent of the total. Presbyterians weren’t far behind, followed by Baptists, Episcopalians and Quakers.  Methodists had a small presence at two percent, Catholics were just under two percent, and there were a handful of synagogues and more than a dozen Mennonite congregations.