Daily Headlines | Monday July 25, 2022

Good Morning!

When Teddy Roosevelt stepped onto the stage of the Milwaukee Auditorium on October 12, 1912, he said, “I don’t know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot.”

He wasn’t joking. He then proceeded to unbutton his shirt to reveal the blood on his chest.

“It takes more than that to kill a bull moose … so I cannot make a very long speech, but I will try my best.”

It’s that typo of resolve that illustrates TR’s convictions. He also once said,

“Perhaps there is no more important component of character than steadfast resolution.”

Sadly, conviction and resolution are a fading characteristic of many elected officials:

1. Same-sex marriage debate poses problems for Republicans 

From The Hill:

A proposal to protect same-sex marriages through federal law is turning into a political liability for Senate Republicans who would rather talk about inflation and gas prices than a hot-button social issue that could provoke a backlash from their party’s base.

Making matters worse for Senate Republicans, a bill to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and require states to recognize same-sex marriages passed the House with 47 GOP votes, giving it strong bipartisan momentum.

It’s a tough vote for many Senate Republicans because while a recent Gallup poll shows broad public support for recognizing same-sex marriage, there’s strong support among social conservatives for defining marriage as the union between one man and one woman.

If the issue comes to the Senate floor, Senate Republicans will have to decide whether to risk alienating moderate voters or picking a fight with their own base.

RELATED: 

CNN asked all 50 GOP senators if they will support the same-sex marriage bill. Here’s where they stand. 

From CNN:

Five Republican senators, so far, have either said they will support or will likely support the House-passed same-sex marriage bill, and that includes: Rob Portman of Ohio, Susan Collins of Maine, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin (likely), Lisa Murkowski of Alaska (likely) and Thom Tillis of North Carolina (likely).

Eight Republican senators, so far, have indicated they would vote “no,” and oppose the same-sex marriage bill.

Fifteen Republican senators, so far, are undecided or did not indicate support for the House-passed bill.

2.   The House-Passed ‘Right to Contraception Act’ is a Pro-Abortion, Anti-Religious Fraud 

From the Daily Citizen:

The innocuously titled Right to Contraception Act is loaded with dangerous pro-abortion, anti-religious consequences. It would, if it becomes law:

• Establish a nationwide right to receive and distribute any drug that is labeled as a “contraceptive,” even if it also acts as an abortifacient, such as Mifepristone.
• Prohibit states and the federal government from cutting off taxpayer subsidies to Planned Parenthood.
• Explicitly condemns state conscience laws that protect healthcare providers who refuse to offer contraceptives, which the bill defines as even including sterilization procedures.
• Supersedes the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, effectively forcing religious hospitals, doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers with conscience objections to provide contraceptives and possible abortifacients to patients in violation of their deeply held beliefs.

This last effect of the bill appears to be especially designed to target Catholic hospitals and healthcare providers, who up to now, have been protected under federal law from being forced to violate their conscience with regard to contraceptives. And many non-Catholic healthcare professionals view some contraceptives as potential abortifacients, and object to providing them on that ground.

The measure passed the House by a vote of 228 to 195, with eight Republicans joining all Democrats in support. It now goes to the Senate, where its future is uncertain. It would need 60 votes to move forward there.

We will keep you apprised of the status on both of these bills as they move forward to the Senate.

3.   University of Michigan Medical Students Walk Out on Pro-Life Speaker at Initiation Ceremony 

From National Review:

Incoming University of Michigan Medical School students staged a walkout of the school’s White Coat Ceremony Sunday to protest the choice of a pro-life doctor as the ceremony’s keynote speaker.

Students had previously attempted to pressure the administration to cancel the speech of Dr. Kristin Collier, a pro-life assistant professor of medicine at the university; they submitted a petition claiming that the choice of her as a speaker made them “doubt whether the school will continue to advocate for reproductive rights.”

However, the school’s dean, Dr. Marschall Runge, refused to disinvite her, citing the “critical importance of diversity of personal thought and ideas, which is foundational to academic freedom and excellence.”

RELATED: 

Missouri AG Sues City for Funding Women’s Out-Of-State Travel for Abortions: ‘Blatantly Illegal’ 

From Townhall:

Attorney General Eric Schmitt (R-MO) is suing the city of St. Louis for passing a bill that would allow private financial assistance to women traveling across state lines for an abortion.

Schmitt’s lawsuit comes just hours after Democratic Mayor Tishaura Jones signed an ordinance that would put $1 million in state funding toward helping women get abortions in other states.

Jones’ legislation would not directly pay for abortion procedures, instead, it would use federal COVID-19 relief money to fund a $1 million “Reproductive Equity Fund,” which would cover travel costs.

The lawsuit argues that the bill violates Missouri’s revised statutes prohibiting the use of public funds, employees and facilities to cover costs incurred for abortions, vowing to stop it.

RELATED: 

llegal Immigrant Accused Of Raping, Impregnating 10-Year-Old Ohio Girl Is Indicted By Grand Jury 

From the Daily Wire:

The illegal immigrant who was arrested last week and accused of raping a 10-year-old girl, whose story made national news in relation to her getting an abortion, has been indicted.

Gerson Fuentes, 27, was indicted by a grand jury on Thursday in Franklin County, Ohio, on two counts of felony rape, CNN reported. As The Daily Wire previously reported, Fuentes had allegedly confessed to raping the girl on at least two occasions, impregnating her.

4. Ben Carson says ‘hard to convince people’ monkeypox is serious after COVID-19 

From the Washington Times:

Ben Carson said the public is not sure what to think of monkeypox in light of how often COVID-19 guidelines changed over time.

“The problem [with monkeypox] is no one knows how concerned to be about things,” Carson told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday Morning Futures. “It’s going to be very hard to convince people that this is something that’s very serious. It’s not clear to me that it’s going to be that serious.”

On Saturday, the World Health Organization declared the monkeypox outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern.” The monkeypox virus can typically spread via skin-to-skin contact and entails headaches, fevers, swollen lymph nodes, rashes, and other symptoms.

5.   Beware of scare tactics from secular gatekeepers

From World Magazine:

Christian nationalism can mean different things, from an idolatrous, worldly, political triumphalism to hope for realizing (or realizing once again) the Great Commission among our people. As a charge, it’s often flung from within a culture (or a cultural leadership) that is becoming ever more antagonistic to the orthodox faith.

Aaron Renn describes us as having passed from the “positive world” of confident Christian culture to the neutral world of secular modernity to where we are now: the negative world that is openly hostile, even fearfully so, to all things Christian. We are viewed as oppressors of women and homosexuals and little trans children. We are “haters” and enemies of liberty’s progress.

Can expect the advocates of “choice” to shame the godly against “imposing” their religion, even though the pro-abortion proponents are doing the very same thing but with their own views of justice and human well-being. Someone’s “theocracy,” someone’s nationalism, someone’s moral and religious consensus is always reigning—whether it follows the God of the Bible or the gods issuing from the idol of the imperial self.

6. Intelligence Committee Members Warn US of Bioweapons Targeting DNA of Individual Americans 

From Fox News:

A member of the House Intelligence Committee warned Americans to stay away from DNA testing services as the information could be used to develop bioweapons targeting specific groups of Americans or even individuals.

Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., made the comments during an appearance at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado on Friday, saying many Americans are far too willing to give up their DNA information to private companies.

“You can’t have a discussion about this without talking about privacy and the protection of commercial data because expectations of privacy have degraded over the last 20 years,” Crow said “Young folks actually have very little expectation of privacy, that’s what the polling and the data show.”

7. Can There Be a ‘Conservative’ Dating App?

From the American Conservative:

Dating apps are supposed to inaugurate physical dates, but at least on popular apps like Tinder, this isn’t happening. A recent study, for example, found that only 50 percent of Tinder users have been on a single date with someone they met on the app. The same study also revealed that less than a quarter of Tinder users are actually looking for a long-term relationship. With the “swipe” feature and the resulting hook-ups, dating apps turn romance into a market commodity, where the sole good is the fulfillment of the self.

Newer apps are trying to create a more humane experience. Upon hearing about a conservative dating app at a Buckley Breakfast a few weeks ago, I reached out to CEO John McEntee. The app is called The Right Stuff. It was developed in partnership with Vibgyor Web USA and designed by Naked Development, and is being backed by investments from Peter Thiel.

The app is exclusively for conservative singles, and operates on an invite-only basis. Accepted members are given two invitations to distribute to fellow conservatives. The app will officially launch in October, and hopes to add new features to the dating-app experience. For instance, it allows users to post on the platform, meaning that if someone were going to a concert, a Nationals game, or even a political event, they could post the event on the app and interested users could “like” the post, allowing the user who posted the event to choose a date to tag along.

Another interesting feature: women do not have to pay. While the app itself is free, of course, there is a premium version of the service that women will not have to pay for. Other than this, however, when The Right Stuff describes itself as a “conservative dating app,” it means to say that it is a dating app for conservatives.

Existing dating apps have certainly taken a more overt liberal turn in recent years. In 2020, for example, the app Bumble required users to sign a statement pledging support to Black Lives Matter. McEntee sees The Right Stuff as an example of the “build your own” model—if the liberal establishment has a hold on an industry, use the market to build a conservative alternative.

8.   Gallup Shows Public Confidence in Elite Media Hits Another All-Time Low 

From the Daily Citizen:

Americans’ appraisal of the reliability and trustworthiness of mainstream media professionals who pride themselves in being the citizenry’s truth-tellers continues to tank … and tank badly. This includes both legacy newspapers and television news.

It’s so bad even the scribes over at The Washington Post had to admit these new numbers are extremely revealing and painfully so. The Post wryly admitted, “At this point, there are probably exotic diseases that poll higher than we do, though we can take (extremely) modest comfort that Congress is even less highly regarded.” At least they are getting the message.

confidence in both newspapers and television news reporting have been taking a stark decline in the most recent years. No business model can sustain itself with such a downward trajectory.

In fact, Gallup reports their data shows “no improvement” in any measures in public confidence ratings. Gallup also explains, “Television news and newspapers rank nearly at the bottom of that list of institutions, with only Congress garnering less confidence from the public than TV news.” Ouch indeed.

Gallup shows that trust of media is not equal among Democrats, Republicans and Independents. Republicans and Independents have the lowest confidence in newspaper reporting at 5% and 12% respectively. While markedly higher than the first two groups, only 35% of Democrats have notable confidence in newspaper reporting.

9.   The Stirring Faith Story Behind Scheels’ Inspiring Statues Outside Their Stores 

From the Daily Citizen:

Pull up to any one of the 32 Scheels’ massive sporting goods stores throughout the United States and you’re immediately struck by the array of large bronze statues flanking the building.

You might see George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, or even Ronald Reagan. Then there’s a military statue – a soldier laden down with equipment from all the different eras of combat history.

“We wanted the experience to start when you drove up,” Jason Loney, Vice President of Store Development at Scheels told me. “We wanted people to have a Disney-like experience.”

“I didn’t know anything about statues,” said Loney. “We met with several sculptors and decided upon the Lundeens.”

Like Scheels, the Lundeen Sculpture company is a family affair. George and Cami, husband and wife, along with artists Mark, Bets and Kelly, are all Lundeens.

Beyond quality merchandise and a fun, family-friendly store environment, Scheels is known by many for boldly acknowledging their Christian convictions. For example, on Christmas and Easter, the store has been known to run “advertisements” noting the true reason for the season.

At a time when historic monuments and statues are being toppled, torn down in protest, or quietly removed, the rising generation deserves to know more about the mortal men and women who were etched in stone or cast in metal. It’s refreshing to see a company unapologetically celebrating our nation’s founders and its many heroes. And it’s especially heartening to see two Christian families like the Scheels and the Lundeen families leading the way.

10.Ohio couple celebrates 100th birthdays, 79 years of marriage: ‘Been a good life’ 

From Fox News:

An Ohio couple celebrated 79 years of marriage last month, and now they’re celebrating a new milestone — their 100th birthdays.

June Malicote was born on July 13, 1922, while her husband, Hubert Malicote, was born 10 days later, on July 23, 1922.

“We just kind of live by the day and all of a sudden we’re 100 years old,” Hubert Malicote told Fox News Digital in a phone interview.

The longtime couple first met at the Eaton Road Church of God in 1941, which was under a different name at the time.

It was in September of that year that they attended a church revival with their respective friend groups.

Hubert had been sitting in the pew behind June — and at one point she looked back at him and smiled. He was smitten.

“After the service, down the street … was an ice cream parlor, so all of us young people went to the parlor, got ice cream and talked and had a nice little afternoon together,” Hubert recalled. “There were no automobiles or anything. So, she went her way, and I went mine. I kind of thought about how I would make contact. And I decided that church was the best place.”