Good Morning!
It was the writer J.R.R. Tolkien who once said, “Courage is found in unlikely places.”
In tens of thousands of schools today, courage will be found in hundreds of thousands of students bringing their bibles and sharing their faith with teachers and fellow students. Please remember them in your prayers:
- Students Across the Nation to Stand for their Faith on “Bring Your Bible to School Day”
From CBN News:
Focus’ Danny Huerta sat down with CBN News to discuss the importance of religious freedom and free speech practiced by students across the country on “Bring Your Bible to School Day.”
- Bring Your Bible Promotion Ignites Controversy in Florida
According to the American Civil Liberties Union, federal courts have advised that officially sponsored prayer and proselytizing is “not acceptable in the school environment.”
Still, the principle of religious liberty in public schools protects students’ voluntary ability to pray and express religious views as long as they don’t cause a disruption.
The state’s Department of Education’ Florida Student and School Personnel Religious Liberties Act says student-led religious activities on school grounds can take place.
But promotional posts on the school’s Facebook page about Bring Your Bible to School Day may potentially cross those boundaries, according to the ACLU. Separately, the school promoted a student-led “Pray at the Pole” event on its Facebook page.
Jacksonville attorney Jimmy Midyette, who also works for Equality Florida, called the school’s Facebook posts “the improper promotion of Christianity.”
Wednesday afternoon, the school re-published its post about Bring Your Bible to School day, this time with a disclaimer that it was a “Friday Club Announcement.” The school has not previously made it a point to delineate between administrative versus club posts, its social media presence shows. LaVilla’s Friday Club is a student-led faith-based group that’s been in existence since at least 2019, social media posts show.
- Judge orders Texas to suspend new law banning most abortions
From the Washington Examiner:
A federal judge has temporarily blocked the enforcement of Texas’s strict new abortion law that prohibits the procedure after a fetal heartbeat is detected.
The ruling on Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman, a Barack Obama-appointed judge, means Texas abortion providers can once again operate after about six weeks’ pregnancy without fear of being sued.
Prior to the ruling, Texas state officials had managed to prevent courts from blocking the new law. One way they got around the courts was by placing the power of lawsuits in the hands of citizens rather than lawyers. Other GOP-run states have tried to pass similar laws since S.B. 8, but every other attempt has been blocked by courts.
The lawsuit was brought by the Biden administration, which argued the law was unconstitutional, referring to the historic ruling in Roe v. Wade that protects women’s access to an abortion.
“A state may not ban abortions at six weeks,” said Brian Netter, an attorney with the Justice Department. “Texas knew this, but it wanted a six-week ban anyway, so the state resorted to an unprecedented scheme of vigilante justice that was designed to scare abortion providers and others who might help women exercise their constitutional rights.”
Texas officials are likely to challenge the ruling in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court will likely have the final say.
The Supreme Court in a 5-4 ruling last month did not block the law from going into effect, as the ruling was based on procedural questions rather than the constitutionality of the law.
- Democrats say they will accept McConnell debt ceiling offer
From The Hill:
Democratic senators on Wednesday signaled they will accept a proposal by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to raise the debt limit for two months to avoid a potential economic crisis.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) noted that accepting McConnell’s offer to vote to raise the debt limit to a certain number high enough to cover the nation’s financial obligations until December would amount to “a temporary victory.”
“In terms of a temporary lifting of the debt ceiling, we view that as a victory, a temporary victory with more work to do,” she told CNN’s Jake Tapper.
Baldwin noted that accepting the deal would allow Democrats to avoid having to undertake the arduous process of amending the 2022 budget resolution to set up a stand-alone reconciliation package to raise the debt ceiling. Under Senate rules, they would have to set the debt ceiling at a higher number under reconciliation and couldn’t simply vote to suspend it until after the 2022 midterm election.
- UCHealth denies kidney transplant to unvaccinated woman in stage 5 renal failure
From Fox News:
A Colorado woman with stage 5 renal failure is scrambling to find a new hospital to perform a kidney transplant after a health system in the state denied the transplant due to her and her donor being unvaccinated against the coronavirus.
“Here I am, willing to be a direct donor to her. It does not affect any other patient on the transplant list,” Jaimee Fougner, Leilani Lutali’s kidney donor, told CBS4. “How can I sit here and allow them to murder my friend when I’ve got a perfectly good kidney and can save her life?”
Lutali said she received a letter from Colorado health system UCHealth at the end of September explaining that she and Fougner have 30 days to begin the vaccine process. They would be removed from the kidney transplant list if they refuse the shots.
“I said I’ll sign a medical waiver. I have to sign a waiver anyway for the transplant itself, releasing them from anything that could possibly go wrong,” said Lutali. “It’s surgery, it’s invasive. I sign a waiver for my life. I’m not sure why I can’t sign a waiver for the COVID shot.”
6. U.S. Census Bureau Tracking Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation, Show Stunning, Confusing Results
From The Daily Citizen:
This latest Census data indicates that only 1% of all Americans identify as “transgender.” But what is most interesting is the remainder. One would assume that 99% of Americans would therefore identify as genuinely male or female. But this would be incorrect. Just under 96% say they are clearly and naturally male or female.
The most stunning findings are found in the difference between the two groups: 1.5% of American adults – 3.8 million of them – identify as “none of these” and 1.7% – 4.2 million – refused to respond to the question. This means 3.2 percent of American adults do not identify as male or female or “transgender.”
This indicates that something very curious is up with gender identity in the United States. First, according to the American Psychiatric Association, “Transgender is a non-medical term” but merely an “umbrella term” describing anyone whose gender identity or expression falls outside traditional gender norms. This could even include a woman who fully considers herself a woman, but simply identifies as more masculine than most women. So while identifying as “transgender” is very elastic category, only 1% of Americans describe themselves as such.
More Americans (1.5%) describe themselves as neither male, female, nor transgender. Of course, this makes one wonder what they do consider themselves. Even more (1.7%) refused to answer the question. This means that either more Americans truly don’t know their gender, are something other than male, female, or transgender, whatever that might be, or perhaps, just simply refuse to play along with whole gender identity game. But this data does indeed show us that things add up in a very funny and curious way when it comes to this question.
7. The Incredible Shrinking Campus Male
Focus on the Family’s Tim Goeglein writes in the Epoch Times:
A few months before his death, Walter Williams, the foremost columnist and professor at George Mason University, wrote, “The true tragedy is that so many Americans are blind to the fact that today’s colleges and universities pose a threat on several fronts to the well-being of our nation.”
While there are countless threats posted by colleges and universities, and it would require an entire book to discuss them all, one of the most alarming is the increasing gender gap between men and women at our nation’s colleges and universities, as reported a few weeks ago by The Wall Street Journal.
This gap is widening at an accelerating rate—and with it is coming some major ramifications for American society. This fall, nearly 60 percent of college and university students are women, and 40 percent men. In just over a half-century, the pendulum has swung wildly in the female direction, as the percentages were almost exactly reversed in 1969.
In fact, over the past 10 years, spring enrollment for men has fallen by more than 18 percent, and while total enrollment has been declining for years, the Journal reported that men made up 71 percent of the decline.
While I’m glad that more women are going to college and for the opportunities they have received that weren’t available 50 years ago, we’re now seeing numerous college-age men drifting through life without focus and purpose.
- PA Legislator Wants to Limit Male Fertility with Uniquely Faulty Logic
From The Daily Citizen:
With great legislative power, comes great responsibility. In light of recent nationwide legislation, there’s a sobering reminder of the responsibility that our nation’s lawmakers hold.
State Rep Chris Rabb, a democrat from Philadelphia, has introduced a new bill to the Pennsylvania legislature requiring vasectomies for men in the Quaker State after the birth of their third child or when they reach age 40, whichever comes first. It would also codify into state law a definition of “wrongful conception” against sexually irresponsible men. The official news site of the Pennsylvania House Democrats explains the law would also provide a $10,000 reward for reporting violators “allowing for Pennsylvanians to take civil action against ‘inseminators.’”
Rabb knows the bill has no chance of passing and is not even serious about it. He proudly refers to it as “parody legislation” in response to Texas’ recent incredibly strong and innovative pro-life law.
He curiously explained, apparently in all seriousness, “As long as state legislatures continue to restrict the reproductive rights of cis women, trans men and non-binary people, there should be laws to address the responsibility of men who impregnate them.” Rabb added, “My sincere hope in introducing this legislation is that my colleagues in the General Assembly consider the egregiously gendered double standard when it comes to curtailing reproductive health care as it applies to women.”
9. Hope for millions of patients with dementia and Parkinson’s as scientists find culprit behind nearly all neurological diseases
From the Daily Mail:
Scientists believe they’ve found the culprit behind nearly all neurological diseases, in a breakthrough that could offer hope to millions.
Dementia, Parkinson’s and many other brain disorders are caused by key cells called neurons dying over time.
Researchers have now found other brain cells – known as astrocytes – play a ‘critical role’ in their death.
The star-shaped cells usually help clear away toxic particles that build up in the brain naturally or after head trauma, and are supposed to nourish neurons.
But laboratory tests on mice show astrocytes also release toxic fatty acids to kill off damaged neurons, confirming a suspicion many neurologists have had for years.
Lead researcher Professor Shane Liddelow, of New York University, said: ‘Our findings show the toxic fatty acids produced by astrocytes play a critical role in brain cell death.’
He added that the results ‘provide a promising new target for treating, and perhaps even preventing, many neurodegenerative diseases’.
10.A Boy with Autism Said He Wanted Friends. So Over 50,000 People Sent Him Birthday Greetings.
From The Daily Citizen:
One boy with autism, who said that his two wishes were to learn to drive and make friends, just gained a whole lot of them.
Daniel Harrison, who has autism, lives in Nottingham, England.
“Daniel, for the first time, was asked at his special needs school to write two things that he’d like to achieve,” Daniel’s dad, Kevin Harrison, told CBS News. “His first was learning to drive and the second thing – which surprised us – was ‘make some friends,’ because we didn’t understand that he understood the theory of friendship.”
Harrison added that Daniel has never expressed wanting friends, “So, that shocked us to the core, really.”
Harrison decided to send out a tweet asking for people to wish Daniel a happy birthday.
The number of people who responded was overwhelming.
As of publishing time, Harrison’s tweet has received over 123,000 likes, 20,000 retweets and over 50,000 comments.
