Good Morning! 

Back in 1920, a German book titled, “Die Freigabe der Vernichtung Lebensunwerten” (“Permitting the Destruction of Unworthy Life”) coined the phrase, “Life Unworthy of Life.”  It was a so-called “scientific argument” suggesting the “weak” should be eliminated for the greater good of society. 

In time, it would become a favorite of Adolph Hitler and his henchman as they developed and implemented their wicked schemes. 

We begin with news of legislation that illustrates a similar disregard for life: 

 

1. Maryland Senate Bill ‘Could Legalize Infanticide Up to 28 Days After Birth’ 

From CBN:  

[Maryland] Senate Bill 669 could “effectively legalize infanticide.” 

In a blog post, ACLJ Associate Counsel Olivia Summers explained, “The bill also proposes a revision of the fetal murder/manslaughter statute that would serve to handcuff the investigation of infant deaths unrelated to abortion. In other words – this bill will effectively legalize infanticide.” 

The language of the proposed bill states, “This section may not be construed to authorize any form of investigation or penalty for a person . . . experiencing a . . . perinatal death related to a failure to act.”  

“In other words, a baby born alive and well could be abandoned and left to starve or freeze to death, and nothing could be done to punish those who participated in that cruel death,” Summers noted. “The bill also includes a section that would allow ‘a person {to} bring a cause of action for damages if the person was subject to unlawful arrest or criminal investigation for a violation of this section as a result of . . . experiencing a . . . perinatal death.'” 

Summers also pointed out under this proposed law, if a baby was abandoned and died, and the police investigated and apprehended the person responsible, the mother could sue the police and be awarded compensation for being investigated and arrested.  

 

  1. Female Swimmer Speaks Out Against Male Competing in Her Sport 

From The Daily Citizen: 

The female athlete gave an interview to NewsNation on condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisal. 

“I think a lot of my teammates are really scared,” she said. 

When Thomas first began practicing with the woman’s team, the female athlete said, “I was kind of shocked that this was here, and this was actually happening and there was going to be no one to step in. 

“We were kind of just made to accept it and not question it or say anything,” she added. “To allow Lia the ability to be on the women’s team … is not fair.” 

“There are categories for a reason because they make sense, and they ensure fairness.” 

 

RELATED: 

Scholastic Corporation Promotes Homosexuality, Transgenderism and Critical Race Theory to Children 

From The Daily Citizen: 

Heroes of Liberty and No Left Turn in Education have launched a campaign alerting parents about Scholastic Corporation, and its promotion of homosexuality, transgenderism, anti-Americanism and critical race theory to school children. 

The company reaches millions of children every year through book fairs, online book sales, reading clubs and the donation of materials to schools. It is the largest publisher and purveyor of children’s books for pre-K to 12th graders in the world. 

No Left Turn in Education is an organization that works, among other goals and objectives, to restore parental involvement in education, expose radical indoctrination in schools, and support teachers who oppose the politicization and sexualization of school children. 

 

RELATED: 

Chasten Buttigieg leads camp for gay teenagers in pledge of allegiance to pride flag 

From the Washington Examiner: 

Video of Chasten Buttigieg, the husband of Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, leading a group of children in a modified pledge of allegiance to the gay pride flag went viral late Wednesday. 

The video was made at Pride Camp, an Iowa summer camp for gay and transgender high school students where Chasten Buttigieg appeared to work as a counselor. 

“I pledge my heart to the rainbow of the Not So Typical Gay Camp,” Chasten Buttigieg and the campers recited. “One camp, full of pride, indivisible, with affirmation and equal rights for all.” 

After reciting the pledge, Chasten Buttigieg and the campers waved gay pride flags and cheered. 

The video garnered attention on Twitter late Wednesday evening after it was shared by Daily Wire podcast host and conservative commentator Matt Walsh, who said the video came from the Amazon Prime documentary Mayor Pete released in October 2021. 

 

3. The World, Moved, Needs to Move Cautiously in Ukraine 

Peggy Noonan writes in the Wall Street Journal:  

To move the world as Mr. Zelensky has, to become a David figure, an international icon of liberty and guts, is more than a human achievement, it is a true strategic fact of the conflict. If two weeks ago he had fled for London and were now making spirited Zoom speeches to his countrymen back home, would Ukraine have stood and fought as it has? He gambled his courage would be contagious, and could be leveraged. 

The West must try with everything it has to end this. Cease-fires, talks, negotiations that become serious, possible compromises, efforts at “deconfliction”—every attempt has to be made and made again. That’s what diplomats exist to do, find a way out when history turns hard. 

Obviously if Mr. Putin decided at some point to use a battlefield tactical nuclear weapon, it would be a catastrophe for the world. But it’s even more than that. What must be said is that once something like that starts, it doesn’t stop. The taboo is broken. It is extremely important for the world that the taboo not be broken. Once a nuclear weapon is used, the use of nuclear weapons is “on the table” in human history—a possibility, another move open to leaders when a war begins. And we can’t let that happen in a world full of monsters who’d use such weapons in a shot but so far haven’t quite felt permitted to break the taboo and usher in a new, dark age. 

 

  1. The Role of Religion in Russia’s War on Ukraine 

From First Things: 

The current conflict in Ukraine is not merely about politics; it is also a battle over religious ideals and symbols. The Orthodox Church plays a powerful role in Russia and Ukraine, even if few people in this part of the world regularly attend the Divine Liturgy. In his aggrieved address the evening before Russia invaded Ukraine, President Putin asserted that Russians and Ukrainians share one Orthodox culture. According to him, Russian military action will restore the unity that the West and Ukrainian nationalists (in his words, “fascists” and “Nazis”) have violated. 

For more than a decade, Kirill, Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, has promoted the idea of a Russkiy Mir, a Russian World that unites Russian speakers around the globe, especially the peoples of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. From one point of view, his assertion is incontrovertible. The Eastern Slavs share an Orthodox culture that goes back more than a millennium—all the way to a.d. 988, when the prince of Rus’ was baptized by Byzantine Orthodox missionaries. Thus was born the vision of Holy Rus’, an Eastern Slavic vision of Christendom in which the divine beauty that illumines the Mother of God also transfigures the natural world and every human relationship. 

But this common heritage has also become a point of contention. Russians call the prince of Rus’ Vladimir; for Ukrainians, he is Volodymyr. He was baptized in Crimea, what is now disputed territory between Russia and Ukraine. When Vladimir/Volodymyr returned to Kiev (or Kyiv), he had his warriors baptized en masse in the Dniepr River. In 1852, the Russian Empire commemorated the event by placing a 14-foot statue of Volodymyr above the riverbank. It soon became a symbol of the city. Not to be outdone, President Putin unveiled a 52-foot statue of Prince Vladimir near the Kremlin in Moscow in 2016.  

Ukrainian identity is complicated by regional differences. What is now western Ukraine was at various times under the influence of the Polish-Lithuanian and Austro-Hungarian empires, whereas eastern Ukraine was more thoroughly Russified. Other areas of the country were influenced by Romania and Greece. Most Ukrainians today speak both Ukrainian and Russian, but they speak Ukrainian with different accents and vocabularies.  

 

  1. Inflation Hits New 40-Year High, Harming Families Struggling to Make Ends Meet 

From The Daily Citizen: 

Inflation has hit another 40-year high, according to newly released numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS). 

Inflation is a monetary phenomenon where the price of good and services increases – meaning the value of a dollar decreases. 

Over the past 12 months, the price of goods and service that American families purchase rose as follows: 

  • Food rose 7.9%. 
  • The price of energy increased 25.6%. 
  • Gasoline grew by a whopping 38.0%. 
  • Electricity increased by 9.0%. 
  • New vehicles rose by 12.4%. 
  • Used cars and trucks skyrocketed by 41.2%. 
  • Apparel increased by 6.6%. 
  • Shelter rose by 4.7%. 
  • Transportation services increased 6.6%. 

 

  1. Tim Tebow, man on a mission: ‘Every single one of us can have a life that counts’ 

From Fox News: 

In a revealing telephone interview with Fox News Digital this week, Tim Tebow spoke from the heart: “The world can be a place that can tell you a lot of things — things about money, fame and power. It can tell you about what you need to pursue.” 

He also said, “That’s one of the big reasons I wanted to write ‘Mission Possible.’ It’s to encourage people. It’s not titled ‘Mission Impossible’ — but ‘Mission Possible.’ I believe that it is possible for every single one of us to have, to truly have, a life that counts. God created each of us to have a unique, awesome purpose, and it’s why we’re here.” 

Tebow may be best known for being a two-time national football champion, a Heisman Trophy winner, a first-round NFL draft pick, a former pro baseball player and an ESPN contributor, but today his passion in life is helping other people understand that they’re put on this earth by God for a reason. 

He created and runs the Tim Tebow Foundation, whose efforts are focused on bringing “faith, hope and love to those needing a brighter day in their darkest hour of need.” 

 

7. Actor/producer Kirk Cameron hosts new talk show, promises guests a ‘no gotcha’ zone 

From the Washington Times: 

Actor/producer Kirk Cameron, who rose to fame as a teen heartthrob in the sitcom “Growing Pains” and has gone on to star in Christian-themed movies, says he knows what it’s like to be on the receiving end of blunt, prying media questions — which is why he promises a “no gotcha” zone for his new, “Takeaways,” on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. 

“A pet peeve [about interviewers] would be thinking that somebody is asking you for an honest answer to a question. But then when you give it you realize it was just a setup for filleting or roasting or whatever. And that’s happened several times,” Mr. Cameron told The Washington Times during the National Religious Broadcasters conference. 

The new talk show will give viewers “actionable” information about topics relating to life, health, finances and similar topics, he said. His interviewing style will try to elicit “real things” that he and his audience can “download and make a difference,” he added. 

“I’m just not the kind of interviewer that’s going to mislead somebody and then throw a ‘gotcha’ question at them,” he said. 

 

8. A Thriving Church Can Save a Faltering One 

From the Wall Street Journal: 

American churches are in trouble. Even before the pandemic, thousands of them were closing every year. Only 47% of Americans said they belong to a church, synagogue or mosque, according to a 2021 Gallup survey, down from 70% in 1999. Last year only 28% of Americans went to church regularly. An overwhelming majority of churches believe they have plateaued or are in decline. 

Why is this happening, and can more church closings be averted? Many churches are declining from a lack of leadership. There may be an older pastor who has a good heart and has been serving a long time but struggles to connect with the younger generation. Some long-established churches have a hard time changing even though the community around them has. Combined with the pandemic, it’s no wonder so many young Christians have left the churches they were raised in. 

If this sounds overly simplistic, visit a couple of churches, especially the local, smaller churches that sit in the middle of residential neighborhoods across the country. The sad but indisputable truth is that this is the reality for most Christian churches. 

The good news is that there’s a way to save a failing church: a partnership, or merger, with a thriving one. Most often this means a comprehensive relaunch for the struggling congregation—rebranding the church and giving it a new vision, staff, programming, facilities and training. 

 

9.  How parents can encourage kids to follow their interests without being pushy 

From CNBC: 

When a child develops an interest, it can be easy for parents to want to them excel in it, but it’s important to draw a distinction between healthy encouragement and pressure to succeed. 

Whether its academics, sports or more creative hobbies, it’s a positive sign when a child shows an interest in — and even an aptitude for — something. But all too often, parents fall into the trap of pushing their kids to seek achievement, rather than simply letting them enjoy their interests. 

It’s been established that this kind of “pushy” parenting, focused on success, can have detrimental effects on a child’s well-being in the long term. 

A 2016 study by Arizona State University on sixth graders found that the pressure that parents put on kids over their grades and their extracurricular activities could actually hinder them from becoming “well-adjusted and successful in later life.” 

The study also found that, paradoxically, the children of parents who focused more on achievement than on qualities like compassion and decency actually had lower grades. 

 

10. Ernest Shackleton’s ship discovered off Antarctica 

From World Magazine: 

A team of scientists and engineers off the coast of Antarctica announced Wednesday they had discovered the sunken remains of one of the most famous ships in the history of maritime exploration — the Endurance. The team found the wooden ship, used by Ernest Shackleton in his 1914-1916 expedition to the South Pole, at the bottom of the Weddell Sea beneath 10,000 feet of icy water. The three-masted ship remains well-preserved due to the environment’s absence of bacteria and wood-eating worms. The Endurance’s wooden helm is intact, as are the gold-leafed letters affixed to the stern that spell out the vessel’s name. The ship is protected as a historic monument under a six-decade-old Antarctic treaty, but the explorers plan to use laser scans to create a detailed 3D model of the shipwreck. 

How did the Endurance sink? 

In August 1914, Ernest Shackleton led a team of 27 men on an expedition to cross Antarctica and the South Pole. But before reaching land, the Endurance became stuck in pack ice, eventually forcing the sailors to disembark as the ship slowly sank. Shackleton’s crew camped on ice floes for several months and eventually reached Elephant Island, where they waited while the captain and five crew members set off in a lifeboat in search of rescue. The entire crew ultimately survived.