Good Morning!
Former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw once noted, “Bias, like beauty, is often in the eye of the beholder. Facts are your firewall against bias.”
In our first story, you’ll note PolitiFact’s ability to somehow ignore the facts:
1. PolitiFact Falsely Fact-Checks Focus on the Family’s Ad on Late-Term Abortions
From the Daily Citizen:
Former President Ronald Regan once famously said, “The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they’re ignorant, it’s just that they know so much that isn’t so.”
This axiom was recently on full display when the so-called factchecking organization PolitiFact attempted to review a claim that Focus on the Family made in recent social media advertisements.
Focus ran ads in several pro-abortion states, including New Mexico, Oregon, Alaska, Vermont and New Jersey.
In those states, Focus made the claim: “Did you know that abortion is available all nine months of pregnancy in [insert state] – even up until the moment before birth and for any reason?”
Focus also stated that Colorado law “allows for abortion at any point of pregnancy – right up to delivery.”
PolitiFact decided to factcheck these ads and rated the claims as “Mostly False.”
In response to PolitiFact’s article, our team at Focus on the Family reached out to the author asking him to explain the “Mostly False” rating.
We wrote:
Your article declares our ads “Mostly False” simply because, though it’s legal to abort a baby throughout the nine months of a pregnancy, it’s reportedly rare? Our ads are calling attention to the laws in those states, and even you acknowledge the laws don’t prohibit abortion at any time. By what standard/measure would our statements be “Mostly False?”
In response, author of the PolitiFact article, Tom Kertscher, said, “The statement said that abortions are available and for any reason; we found that late-term abortions are rare and usually for urgent medical reasons, and that abortions near full term are not done.”
Towards the end of PolitiFact’s article, the organization states, “Near full term, contrary to what the ads suggest, abortions are not done, experts say.”
It’s past time for someone to factcheck the phony factcheckers.
First, the PolitiFact article concedes that in the six state Focus’ mentioned, “Abortion is not prohibited at a specific gestational age before fetal viability … However, late-term abortions are rare in each state.”
This concession by PolitiFact should make our claim, that in these six states, “Abortion is available all nine months of pregnancy,” factually true.
It’s true that late-term abortions are rare – but Focus never claimed that they weren’t, only that late-term abortions are legally available to women in multiple states.
Additionally, without a doubt, late-term abortions are performed in the U.S.
Perhaps Tom Kertscher has never heard of LeRoy Carhart, founder of Clinics for Abortion & Reproductive Excellence (ghoulishly shortened to “CARE”).
CARE has two clinics in Maryland and Nebraska, and services women from many other states, including all six states which Focus’ ads highlighted.
The website for the abortion clinic states that their “mission is to provide late term abortions in Colorado.”
“We provide assistance to women in Colorado with late term abortions, third trimester abortions, [and] abortion after 27 weeks,” CARE states.
Any abortion done after 27 weeks is certainly “near” full term – which PolitiFact says never happens.
We’ve chosen not to link to CARE’s website, in order to not provide a scintilla of support to that organization.
Additionally, has Tom Kertscher heard of the Boulder Abortion Clinic, run by “Doctor” Warren Hern?
The website for the clinic states that patients come in “for third trimester abortion (later abortions).”
The clinic also says under its section entitled “abortion services,” that the clinic provides abortions in the “third trimester – over 28 weeks.”
Any abortion done over 28 weeks is certainly “near” full term.
We looked into the funding that PolitiFact receives and discovered that the organization is run by the Poynter Institute.
That institute has received $382,997 from the notoriously liberal and pro-abortion Gates Foundation.
The Gates Foundation donates heavily to Planned Parenthood, recently shelling out $1,730,000 to the International Planned Parenthood Federation.
In 2021, the Gates Foundation also pledged $1.4 billion to “expand the use of family planning” across the globe. The term “family planning” is code for expanding access to abortions, abortifacients and contraceptives, and the foundation said part of the money would be used “to develop contraceptive technologies.”
Should a supposed factchecking organization receive funds from a blatantly biased and pro-abortion organization?
Our ruling
PolitiFact attempts to smear Focus’ true ads by claiming that though our ads correctly call attention to permissive abortion laws in several states, because late-term abortions are “rare,” our statement is “Mostly False.”
We rate PolitiFact’s claim as “Mostly False.”
2. Over 50 Attacks on Pro-Life Groups Since May, and Not a Single Arrest
From PJ Media:
The latest beneficiaries of the Biden regime’s two-tier legal system are the pro-abortion fanatics who have attacked over 50 pro-life centers since May 8, shortly after the draft Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade was leaked. While Biden’s handlers are doing everything they can to circumvent the Court’s decision and keep the sacrifices to Moloch going everywhere, Old Joe’s desperately corrupt and politicized Justice Department has not managed to arrest a single person in connection with these attacks. What a surprise.
On May 15, the Women’s March declared: “Our Summer of Rage is officially beginning. We’re prepared to rage for Roe all summer, culminating in a Women’s Convention in Houston, Texas. We won’t rest until abortion rights are protected.” So far, the summer has seen plenty of rage: Catholic Vote reported that as of Friday, “More than 50 pregnancy resource centers and offices of pro-life groups have been attacked and vandalized,” and “Pro-abortion domestic terrorists have claimed responsibility — and are promising more attacks.”
It’s clear that Biden’s Justice Department, which took the highly unusual step of openly dissenting from the decision overturning Roe and has been decidedly reluctant to protect conservative Supreme Court Justices from illegal protests at their homes, is hardly making the protection of pro-life centers a high priority. No one has been arrested from the pro-abortion group Jane’s Revenge, despite its open threats to pro-lifers. “We will hunt you down and make your lives a living hell,” the group has said. This is, it says, a “war” against pro-lifers.
3. Southwest Flight Attendant Awarded $5.1 Million in Free Speech Case About Abortion
From the Daily Citizen:
Free speech wins, even when it is critical of abortion. As it ought to.
Charlene Carter is a pro-life Christian who worked as a flight attendant with Southwest Airlines from 1996 until 2017. Her employment came to an abrupt end shortly after she learned that the president of her union, Audrey Stone of the Transport Workers Union Local 556, and other union officials had attended the Women’s March in Washington, D.C., and used union dues to attend.
The Women’s March is known for being notoriously pro-abortion, and Ms. Carter was upset that her union dues were going to support abortion.
And she let Stone know about it on social media.
“This is what you supported during your paid leave with others at the Women’s March in D.C.,” she wrote in one Facebook message to Stone, according to the Dallas Morning News. “You truly are despicable in so many ways.” She also sent Stone a video containing pictures of aborted babies.
Stone reported Carter’s comments to Southwest, telling the airline that she felt harassed by the posts.
Southwest fired Carter a week later. But she fought back and filed a lawsuit for wrongful termination, claiming the airline and the union discriminated and retaliated against her for her beliefs about abortion.
After a weeklong trial and 10 hours of deliberation, a federal jury awarded Carter a total of $5.1 million, consisting of $300,000 in lost wages and benefits, $1 million for past and future pain and suffering, and $3.5 million in punitive damages against the airline and $300,000 in punitive damages against the union, according to law360.com. She also might receive additional lost pay from the date of the trial forward, but that will be determined at future date.
4. Sen. Ted Cruz says Supreme Court ‘clearly wrong’ in decision legalizing same-sex marriage
From CNBC:
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Saturday that the Supreme Court was “clearly wrong” and “overreaching” when it legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges 2015 ruling.
The remarks from Cruz, who has been open about his interest in another presidential run, came just weeks after the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision that guaranteed a constitutional right to abortion.
Cruz, a longtime opponent to same-sex marriage who believes both issues should be left to the states, echoed conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who argued in his concurring Roe opinion that the court “should reconsider” past rulings, including Obergefell as well as opinions that protected the right to same-sex intimacy and contraception.
“Obergefell, like Roe v. Wade, ignored two centuries of our nation’s history,” Cruz said on his podcast, Verdict with Ted Cruz. “Marriage was always an issue that was left to the states. We saw states before Obergefell — some states were moving to allow gay marriage, other states were moving to allow civil partnerships. There were different standards that the states were adopting.”
“The way the Constitution set up for you to advance that position is convince your fellow citizens that if you succeeded in convincing your fellow citizens, then your state would change the laws to reflect those views. In Obergefell, the court said now we know better than you guys do, and now every state must, must sanction and permit gay marriage,” Cruz continued.
“I think that decision was clearly wrong when it was decided. It was the court overreaching.”
- Biological Man Nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year
From the Washington Examiner:
Thomas is one of 577 athletes nominated for the award, according to a release from the NCAA.
“Established in 1991, the award recognizes female student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in their community, in athletics and in academics throughout their college careers,” the release read.
“As 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the NCAA Woman of the Year program is an important opportunity to honor and reflect on the impact of women on intercollegiate sports.”
Thomas, who swam for the men’s swimming team for three years in NCAA Division I competition, got first place in the women’s 500-yard NCAA championship in March.
6. Media Saturated? It Might Be Time to Shake the Spheres of Influence in Your Life
Dr. David Jeremiah writes for CBN:
Here’s a summary fact: Depending on which research study you read, the average American adult (age 18 and older) spends more than half of each day consuming media—both traditional (TV, radio, print) and digital (websites, streaming, movies, music, and other Internet-delivered sources like tweets, podcasts, and the like).
One study says the number is 13.61 hours. I said “mostly” because some media content consumed by Christians is faith-based—but I suspect, even for Christians, the percent of faith-based media consumed is small compared to secular media.
Let’s break that 13.61 hours-per-day number down. Let’s say we sleep 7 hours per night (fasting from media), that leaves 17 waking hours in the day. Out of those 17 hours, the average American adult spends 13.61 of those waking hours consuming media of some sort. That leaves 3.39 hours per day when we are NOT consuming media. That’s less than half of the 8 hours we spend at work.
ere is the issue: We are influenced by every form of media we consume—in one way or another. We can be influenced for good by consuming good and godly media. And we can be influenced in other ways by consuming other kinds of media.
Those of us who were around when computers started to become common and mainstream remember the acronym used by computer programmers: GIGO, which stands for “Garbage In, Garbage Out.” If a computer fails to perform a specified task, it’s because the software has an error, or “bug.” If you write “garbage” in the software, you’ll get “garbage” in the output.
7. Lefty Scholar Bails Leading Liberal DC Think Tank Over ‘Chilling Effect’ of Wokeness
From the Daily Citizen:
Politico is reporting the most recent indication of how even left-leaning scholars at some of Washington, D.C.’s most prestigious liberal think tanks are fed up with how progressive wokeness is crippling academic curiosity and expression. It is causing them to leave their once-loved academic homes.
The Daily Citizen has reported on such developments in academia, here and here.
This present development is the story of Ruy Teixeira, a demographer who has been a founding scholar and senior fellow at one of Washington, D.C.’s most influential left-leaning think tanks, the Center for American Progress (CAP). Politico reports Dr. Teixeira is now moving over to the conservative American Enterprise Institute.
Does the move stem from Teixeira’s newfound conservatism? Not at all. He is the same liberal he has always been. In fact, his most recent book is entitled The Optimistic Leftist.
No, his move is because he is absolutely fed up with wokeness crippling such organizations. In fact, the scholar told Politico the current ideological atmosphere of liberal organizations “send me running screaming from the left.” He added, “I’m just a social democrat, man. Trying to make the world a better place.”
But Dr. Teixeira has experienced the extremes of current woke progressivism and he has had it, so he has sought another home. He puts it as frankly as he can, “It’s just cloud cuckoo land,” over there in the liberal think tanks anymore.”
- Tom Brady: My wealth is the ‘hardest thing’ about parenting
From the New York Post:
Tom Brady thinks his and Gisele Bündchen’s wealth is the “hardest thing” about raising their children.
“We have people that clean for us. We have people that make our food. We have people that drive us to the airport if we need that. … We get off a plane and there’s people waiting there for us and we get ushered in,” the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback said on a recent episode of Spotify’s “Drive” podcast.
“That’s my kids’ reality, which is the hard part to say, ‘Guys, this is not the way reality really is. … What can we do about that?’”
The NFL star, 44, said he and the Brazilian supermodel, 41, try to make their kids relatable by creating “experiences that are more along the lines of what most kids go through,” but he admitted at the end of the day, his children will “still have experiences that a lot of kids never do have.”
Brady said his and Bündchen’s humble beginnings have made them understand and appreciate their privilege.
9. A Doctor Shares the Secret to Dying Well
From the Gospel Coalition:
There may be no way to be completely ready for death when it comes. I have also seen believers gripped by fear, despair, doubt, and anger at the end; the enemy is not passive even in our fading hours. But though the manner in which Christians face death varies, I’m so thankful that Christ’s grip on his people’s souls never changes (John 10:28–29).
The best way you can prepare for death is by walking faithfully with Christ one day at a time. Trust him today as you want to trust him at the end. Then, someday—just like my patient—you’ll walk into eternity with the faithful God who has led you all your life.
10. The Small Church Pastor Who Inspired In-N-Out to Put Bible Verses on Its Cups and Wrappers
From the Daily Citizen:
If you had been one of the 25 people inside the small building on Church Street in Costa Mesa, Calif., for Calvary Chapel pastor Chuck Smith’s first service back on Sunday, December 5, 1965 – could you have possibly seen what was to come?
When he died in 2013, the Reverend Chuck Smith, affectionately known as “Papa Chuck” to his legions of congregants, was credited with helping launch the modern-day megachurch movement and growing his denomination to encompass over 700 separate congregations.
Back in the mid 1960s, Chuck Smith was a bi-vocational pastor. Working as produce manager at the Alpha Beta supermarket and preaching at a small church, Smith grew increasingly discouraged. The church was stagnant – and he was discouraged he couldn’t even afford the $50 union fee he owed down at the market. Adding up all his debts, he discovered he owed $416.
“Maybe I should forget the ministry,” he thought. “We’re going deeper into debt, and the church isn’t growing.”
But the very next morning the phone rang out of the blue – and an old family friend told him she was sending him a gift of $425. A few years later he was called to pastor the Calvary church – which had begun with 12 people worshipping in a trailer.
Appealing to hippies, beach bums and younger individuals disaffected by their parents’ traditional worship, Pastor Chuck led tens of thousands of people to the Lord – including Richard Snyder, the son of Harry and Esther Snyder, founders of In-N-Out Burger.
Having assumed the head of the burger chain at the age of 24 following the death of his father, Richard Snyder began attending Calvary Chapel and accepted Christ as his personal Lord and Savior in 1983. The conversion overwhelmed and inspired him to want to share his newly found faith.
With the fervor of an evangelist in 1987, Snyder ordered Bible verse references be placed on In-N-Out Burger’s cups and wrappers.
Rich Snyder died tragically in an airplane crash in 1993, but his niece and current CEO, Lynsi Snyder, has maintained the tradition as a way to honor both his legacy and her love of the Lord. Lynsi Snyder was a recent guest on the Focus on the Family radio broadcast.
Life’s unpredictable and unexpected twists and turns not only add interest to our days, but point to the Lord’s sovereign and sacred plan for our lives. Just consider:
A church of twelve people started in a trailer over 60 years ago, and later pastored by a produce manager of a supermarket, would wind up discipling an individual whose evangelistic enthusiasm over 30 years ago would still be witnessing to millions of people in 2022 via a popular fast food burger joint.
It all brings to mind Chuck Smith’s pithy observation, “Where God guides, God provides.”
