Daily Headlines | Friday June 17, 2022

Good Morning!

Liberals love it when activist Supreme Court judges unilaterally make law by overturning long-held precedents (think abortion, prayer, marriage, etc.) – but as soon as they disagree with a decision, they suddenly turn their attention back to where laws are supposed to be made in the first place.

It was Abraham Lincoln who once defined a hypocrite as, “The man who murdered his parents, and then pleaded for mercy on the grounds that he was an orphan.”

We begin with a fresh liberal pledge:

1. White House says if Roe is overturned, ‘we will need Congress’ to restore it 

From the Washington Examiner:

The White House said Thursday it is weighing its options if the Supreme Court revokes existing precedents on abortion rights but also put the ball squarely in Congress’s court.

A decision is coming this month, possibly as early as Monday, in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Center case. Based on a leaked draft opinion, it appears there is a majority in favor of overturning 1973’s landmark Roe v. Wade ruling and 1992’s Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

“The administration continues to explore every possible option in response to the anticipated Supreme Court decision” on abortion, said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at Thursday’s briefing.

But President Joe Biden’s chief spokeswoman also suggested it would take an act of Congress to protect legal abortion. “If the Supreme Court overturns Roe, we will need Congress to take action to restore Roe,” she said.

2.   ‘Domestic Terrorist Attacks Against Pro-Life Organizations’: Abortion Radicals Jane’s Revenge Threatens ‘Open Season’ 

From CBN:

Pro-abortion radicals have issued a new threat and declared “open season” on crisis pregnancy centers that provide essential resources to women, demanding that they close their doors or become a target of attack.

The warning came in a statement released under the name “Jane’s Revenge,” which some have now categorized as a domestic terrorist group.

The name of the radical group has been found spray-painted at the site of attacks against crisis pregnancy centers, churches, and other pro-life groups.

Crisis pregnancy centers in Wisconsin, Oregon, and New York have been firebombed. Multiple churches, other pro-life groups, and pro-life lawmakers have been the target of graffiti and vandalism.

The latest statement from Jane’s Revenge said “we are not one group, but many” and claimed responsibility for attacks in more than a dozen cities.

Now the radical group is vowing to take “increasingly drastic measures” which are not “so easily cleaned up as fire and graffiti.”

RELATED:  

California Man Indicted, Charged with Attempted Assassination of Justice Brett Kavanaugh 

From The Daily Citizen:

A federal grand jury on June 15 returned an indictment charging Nicholas John Roske, age 26, of Simi Valley, California, with attempting to murder United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a federal crime that carries a maximum sentence of life in a federal prison.

The announcement of the indictment from the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland explains that Roske is charged with one criminal count of attempting to kill the Justice after arriving in front of the Kavanaugh home at approximately 1:00 a.m. on the morning of June 8.

According to the indictment and other police documents, Roske was taken into custody without incident after calling 911 to turn himself in. In his possession was a Glock 17 pistol, two magazines loaded with 10 rounds of 9 mm ammunition, and 17 rounds of ammunition contained in a plastic bag, a tactical knife, pepper spray, and other items he intended to use in his attempt to murder Kavanaugh.

The events surrounding his decision to fly from California to the Washington, D.C. area to assassinate Justice Kavanaugh, and his ultimate arrest unfolded as follows.

3. ‘Dad deprivation’ draws renewed attention in search for answers to school shootings 

From the Washington Times:  

The link between mass school shootings and absentee fathers has drawn renewed attention in the aftermath of the Uvalde school massacre, but even with Father’s Day fast approaching, not everyone is interested in exploring the issue.

Ask Sen. Ted Cruz when the Texas Republican broached the impact of cultural factors such as “broken homes, absent fathers” at the National Rifle Association meeting a week after the deadly shooting in Uvalde, Texas, he said he was accused of shaming single mothers.

“It was interesting seeing some of the reactions of the left because it’s almost pathological where they come back and attack me and said, ‘Well, Cruz is attacking single moms,’” Mr. Cruz said on his “The Verdict” podcast. “No, I’m not. I’m saying that kids do better with dads.”

Gun control and school security jumped to the top of the legislative agenda after the mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde last month, but calls are also rising for the nation’s leaders to grapple with the connection between fatherlessness and young men carrying out horrific attacks on vulnerable targets.

“Boys who hurt us are boys who hurt,” said Warren Farrell, an author of the 2019 book “The Boy Crisis.” “Yet both the boy crisis and boys’ experience of dad deprivation is almost completely ignored by schools, legislatures and the media.”

4. Denying and Defying Our Human Bodies  

From First Things: 

As I live in California, I feel compelled to draw attention to the Gender Affirming Health Care bill, which aims to make the state a sanctuary for children with gender dysphoria. This includes out-of-state children seeking “affirmative therapy” that has been banned in their own state. If passed, this law would allow out-of-state laws not to be enforced. California would no longer have to cooperate with other states that have banned or restricted minors from accessing medical or surgical gender transition therapies.

Wesley Smith predicts that “California will become a transgender sanctuary state, with a law that encourages transgender children to be brought to California to escape court rulings and laws of other jurisdictions when they go against transgender ideology.”

We are witnessing the total corruption of medicine. Medical procedures that would have been unconscionable fifty years ago are happening all around us. One can only hope that, fifty years from now, with all the harm done to our bodies and our children, people will look back and say, “My God, what were they thinking?”

5. ‘Freedom Of Speech, And Freedom Of Reach’: Elon Musk Tells Twitter Employees Users Should Be Able To Tweet ‘Pretty Outrageous Things’ 

From the Daily Wire:

During an all-hands meeting with Twitter employees on Thursday, Elon Musk explained that users should be able to post “pretty outrageous things.”

The New York Times technology correspondent Mike Isaac reported that Twitter employees had the opportunity to submit questions to Musk over the past few days. Musk reportedly said during the meeting, which Twitter Chief Marketing Officer Leslie Berland moderated, that he wants to prioritize “freedom of speech, and freedom of reach.”

Musk has frequently commented on the need for Twitter — and mainstream Americans at large — to reaffirm their commitments to freedom of speech.

“I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans,” Musk said in April, adding that the “extreme antibody reaction from those who fear free speech says it all.”

6. Colts starting safety Khari Willis gets ridiculed by some for retiring from NFL to become Christian minister: ‘God isn’t real this is crazy’ 

From TheBlaze:

Indianapolis Colts starting safety Khari Willis turned more than a few heads Wednesday when he announced his retirement from the NFL after just three seasons in the league — so he can become a Christian minister.

Here’s Willis’ Instagram post explaining it all:

“With much prayer and deliberation, I have elected to officially retire from the NFL as I endeavor to devote the remainder of my life to the further advancement of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” Willis wrote in part. “I thank all of my family, friends, and those who have supported me on this journey thus far, and I look forward to your continued support through the next phase of my life. I am both humbled and excited to pursue the holy call that God has for my life which brings me much joy and purpose …”

It appeared the vast majority of folks reacting to Willis’ announcement respected his decision — like Frank Reich, head coach of the Colts.

“We’re thankful and appreciative of Khari’s contributions to the Colts both on and off the field over the last three seasons,” Reich said in a statement, according to ESPN. “Khari’s character, leadership, and professionalism will be missed in our locker room as will his play on Sundays. I admire and respect his decision to transition into the next stage of his life and ministry and my prayers will always be with him.”

7. U.S. Border Patrol Encounters 239,416 Illegal Immigrants in May, Highest in U.S. History 

From The Daily Citizen:

In the month of May, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) encountered 239,416 illegal immigrants along the Southern Border – the highest total for a single month in the history of the United States.

This represented a 2% increase over the month of April, when 235,478 illegal immigrants were encountered.

CBP reported that 69% of all encounters of illegal immigrants, or 165,200 individuals, were single adults. There are also 59,282 encounters of individuals travelling as a family unit, and 14,699 encounters of unaccompanied children – up 21% as compared with April.

Children who travel unaccompanied from Central and South America to the United States face severe risks along their journey.

According to one government study, children face risks of “exploitation, violence and death” while en route.

8. Is remote work worse for wellbeing than people think? 

From BBC News:

When Cat, 30, was offered a fully remote role last year, she didn’t think twice about accepting. By then, Cat, who lives in London and works in environmental services, had already been working mostly remotely for some time as a result of the pandemic. She thought that being based from home wouldn’t be much of a problem.

But during the past few months, Cat has started to have second thoughts.

“Working alone all day every day, particularly when my partner is in the office, is tough,” says Cat. “Sometimes, I won’t see anyone all day, which can be very lonely. I’ve found that instead of taking breaks to chat to people in my office, I pick up my phone. All of the extra screen time has definitely had a negative impact on my wellbeing.”

Remote work has been heralded as a solution to some of the problems of our fast-paced, pre-pandemic lifestyles. For many, it’s meant the opportunity to spend more time with their children, or use time that they would have previously wasted commuting pursuing more fulfilling hobbies. But new research into remote work and wellbeing has shown mixed results – in Microsoft’s 2022 New Future of Work Report, researchers found that although remote work can improve job satisfaction, it can also lead to employees feeling “socially isolated, guilty and trying to overcompensate”.

RELATED: 

Exercise pill? Researchers identify molecule in blood produced during workout 

From Fox News:

Researchers at Baylor and Stanford Universities say they have reached an important step toward condensing some of the benefits of exercise into a simple pill.

The researchers, Baylor Professor of Pediatrics, Dr. Yong Xu, and Stanford assistant Professor of Pathology, Dr. Jonathan Long, say they have identified a molecule produced in the blood during exercise that has successfully reduced food intake and obesity in mice, according to the Baylor College of Medicine.

“Regular exercise has been proven to help weight loss, regulate appetite and improve the metabolic profile, especially for people who are overweight and obese,” Xu said. “If we can understand the mechanism by which exercise triggers these benefits, then we are closer to helping many people improve their health.”

“We wanted to understand how exercise works at the molecular level to be able to capture some of its benefits,” added Long. “For example, older or frail people who cannot exercise enough, may one day benefit from taking a medication that can help slow down osteoporosis, heart disease or other conditions.”

9. Disney’s Toy Story & the Normalization of Sexual Confusion 

Focus on the Family’s Adam Holz writes for Plugged in:

Earlier this year, controversy erupted in Florida when the state passed a law prohibiting teaching about LGBT issues to public school children from kindergarten to third grade. The law quickly came under fire from many in Hollywood and in left-leaning political circles. Pressure mounted on Disney to make a statement, since the company’s iconic theme park Walt Disney World resides in Orlando, Florida.

Disney didn’t initially respond. But according to multiple reports, Pixar reinstated a same-sex kiss in the film in response to the Florida law, using a film to comment on the political and cultural conversation and controversy about LGBT representation.

In recent years, we’ve witnessed growing inclusion of LGBT characters in movies and TV shows aimed at children. Disney has actually come under fire for being reluctant to participate in this trend.

Yes, we’ve had blink-and-you’ll-miss-it images of two moms with a child in the background, or verbal allusions to same-sex relationships. But Lightyear’s depiction of a same-same relationship and multi-decade marriage catapults Disney to the vanguard of this cultural controversy.

To my mind, what’s most noteworthy here isn’t really the kiss that we see, but the fact that the film depicts everything around it as completely normal and unremarkable. Buzz obviously knows that Alisha is gay. The couple then gets married, has a child (the biological details there are never explained), and lives decades together, all without ever suggesting that this is anything other than how things are supposed to be.

For many fans of Pixar and Toy Story, Disney’s deliberate, intentional and political embrace of such a radical, activist position on this issue will come as an enormous disappointment. Buzz Lightyear is a beloved, iconic character. And apart from this issue, his origin is story is one that many families otherwise would have enjoyed.

But just as Disney feels it must take a particular stand on this cultural issue, many families with equally strong, sincerely held biblical convictions will likely choose to pass on Lightyear’s advocacy of the LGBT agenda here.

10.  The Surprising Find Inside My Late Father’s Medicine Cabinet 

From The Daily Citizen:

Jumping into his medicine cabinet to clean and sort impacted me more than I anticipated. Opening it, I discovered what you’d expect an old man to possess – his many prescriptions, along with Coppertone sunscreen (he loved to sit out on the deck), deodorant, Afta Pre-Electric Shave Lotion, and of course, Old Spice aftershave.

One by one, I picked the bottles up, shaking each to see how much was left inside. I then unscrewed the tops and inhaled the aromas. It’s amazing how powerful scents can be.

“Memories, imagination, old sentiments, and associations are more readily reached through the sense of smell than any other channel,” said Oliver Wendell Holmes, a former Supreme Court justice. He was right.

A whiff of the Coppertone sunscreen triggered one of my earliest memories – taking “motorboat rides” on my father’s back down at Oceanside Pool – a community park on Long Island’s south shore. To my three-year-old mind, Oceanside Pool was a giant and magical place. But even in the “deeper” water, I felt secure holding onto my father’s neck and shoulders. Good fathers can elicit such security.

The Old Spice brought me back to Sunday mornings. My dad would appear in a coat and tie in the kitchen, freshly shaved. He’d load up the station wagon and take us all to church. Then it was to either the neighborhood deli for cold cuts for dinner or to the bagel store. The fresh scent of his Old Spice filled the car. Even to this day, I associate that aroma with the happiness and joy of family worship.

The Afta Pre-Electric shave conjured up memories of my father returning from work. He apparently kept an electric razor in his office and would shave before taking the Long Island Railroad back home from Manhattan. No five o’clock shadow for Jim Batura. We’d run to greet him as he stepped off the train. As he knelt to hug us, his smooth cheek would touch ours. Forevermore I’ve connected that scent with how good it felt for my father to be back home.

I decided to leave those bottles in the medicine cabinet. This might sound silly to some, but every now and again, I’ll open one up and inhale. The journey it takes me on is brief but satisfying.

The common thread through all the memories is security – for my safety, my sustenance, and my faith. My dad wasn’t a perfect man, but he was a great father. As we celebrate Father’s Day this coming Sunday, let’s lift up the good men who have shaped us – and commit to instilling in our sons the importance of teaching, encouraging and providing for the next generation the things money will never buy.

Hope you have a great Father’s Day weekend!