Good Morning!
Will the Supreme Court issue the long-awaited and anticipated Dobb’s ruling today? Outside court circles, it’s anybody’s guess.
“Waiting itself is beneficial to us,” preached Charles Spurgeon. “It tries faith, exercises patience, trains submission, and endears the blessing when it comes.”
Henri Nouwen saw it similarly: “Waiting time is not wasting time. Waiting patiently in expectation is the foundation of the spiritual life.”
Another great way to wait was to tune into Focus on the Family’s See Life ’22 last evening:
1. Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro Headline’s Focus on the Family’s Dynamic See Life ’22 Event
A flash snapshot from Focus on the Family’s Nicole Hunt:
Ben Shairo’s keynote address last night electrified a capacity, standing-room only crowd on Focus on the Family’s Colorado Springs’ campus. More coverage of the evening will, but we begin with a quick summary of the festivities and presenters:
Ben Shapiro debunking popular abortion myths:
Myth #1 Abortion is a right.
Not true. Not in the U.S. Constitution. There is no constitutional right to kill another human being.
Myth #2 It’s not really a human life.
At conception a unique human life comes into being. Abortion kills a unique human life.
Myth #3 It is responsible to abort.
Just because it’s hard doesn’t mean killing another human being is responsible. It’s immoral.
Myth #4 Women should have the only say about abortion.
No. It’s a dismissive view of childbearing. It takes two to make a baby.
Myth #5 Abortion should be allowed for rape and incest.
No. Cases of rape and incest are rare – only 1% of abortions. One evil crime does not justify another. Don’t kill the baby.
Myth #6 But it’s my body.
You are part of the creation of the child and you have a duty to care for it. Abortion is not passive. It is violently ending another person’s life.
Myth #7 Banning the practice condemns women to dangerous illegal abortions.
Not true. This is a scare tactic. Study the statistics.
Myth #8 Hypothetical: Building on fire and you can only save 5-year-old or a box of 1,000 embryos. You would save the 5-year-old.
Dumb argument. Change hypothetical and get different result. False choices.
Candace Owens:
“I used to be pro-choice. I was young and impressionable.”
“Abortion is human sacrifice.”
“If you are a black American the most unsafe place to be is in your mother’s womb.”
“I’m radically pro-family.”
“Motherhood is a superpower.”
Jeanne Mancini:
“Social justice begins in the womb.”
Save the date: Jan 20th 2023, the 50th annual March for Life in Washington DC
Jim Daly:
“This is the beginning of the end of abortion.”
“Younger generation, you’ve gotta finish the job.”
“Be worthy of the calling. Live for something bigger than yourself. Be bold.”
NOTE: Check back for more coverage from Focus on the Family’s Daily Citizen, including a rare, exclusive, one-on-one interview with Ben Shapiro. ALSO – click here to watch a replay of the LIVE event.
2. I talked to 70 parents who raised highly successful kids—here are the 4 hard parenting rules that make them different
From CNBC:
As I researched and wrote my book, “Raising an Entrepreneur,” I interviewed 70 parents who raised highly successful adults. Here are their four hard parenting rules that differentiate them from most others:
- Give kids extreme independence
- Actively nurture compassion
- Welcome failure early and often
- Let go of control and lead by following
They may not end up with a career you had in mind, but if they’re able to pursue their passion, they’ll be happy and fulfilled. And isn’t that what all parents want for their kids?
3. ‘Washington Post’ Finds Most Americans Oppose Including Men in Women’s Sports
From The Daily Citizen:
According to a new poll conducted by one of the nation’s most leftist news outlets, most Americans oppose men competing in women’s sports.
The Washington Post writes:
Even as an increasing share of Americans report familiarity with and tolerance for transgender people, most oppose allowing transgender female athletes to compete against other women at the professional, college and high school level, according to a Washington Post–University of Maryland poll.
The article continues:
The poll, conducted May 4 through 17 among 1,503 people across the United States, finds 55 percent of Americans opposed to allowing transgender women and girls to compete with other women and girls in high school sports and 58 percent opposed to it for college and professional sports. About 3 in 10 Americans said transgender women and girls should be allowed to compete at each of those levels, while an additional 15 percent have no opinion.
The Post is widely viewed as one of the most leftist news outlets in the nation.
In 2017, the outlet adopted the phrase “Democracy Dies in Darkness” as its new slogan, which was seen as a shot at former President Donald Trump – a frequent critic of the mainstream media.
So, what does it tell us that even perhaps one of the most liberal news outlets admits that most Americans don’t want men competing in women’s sports?
For one thing, it speaks volumes about how The Post worded its question to respondents. Notice that the outlet asked Americans whether “transgender women and girls” should be allowed to “compete with other women and girls.”
In other words, in its question, The Post couldn’t help but insert its bias. It equates “transgender women and girls” with “other women and girls.”
RELATED:
Study estimates number of transgender youth has doubled since 2017
From the Washington Examiner: A new study from the Williams Institute at UCLA Law estimates that the number of teenagers identifying as transgender is now twice the amount the institute estimated in 2017.
The study estimates the number of trans teenagers is around 300,000, double the 2017 estimate of 150,000, even as the study’s estimate of trans adults remained largely unchanged at 1.3 million.
“One of the strongest predictors in our model of [a] state’s proportion of individuals who identify as trans is the proportion of same-sex couples in the state,” Herman said. “I don’t think there’s one single explanation, but certainly the social and political contexts within a state could have [a] substantial amount to do with it. We just can’t point to one single answer.”
RELATED:
Florida Governor Weighs Ordering Investigation Into Parents Who Take Children to Drag Shows
From The Daily Citizen:
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is considering ordering the state’s child protective services to investigate parents who take their children to drag shows.
NBC News recently reported that the governor told reporters he had asked his staff to look into proposed legislation that would punish the parents of children who take their kids to drag shows.
“We have child protective statutes on the books,” Gov. DeSantis said. “We have laws against child endangerment.”
“It used to be kids would be off-limits. Used to be everybody agreed with that. Now, it just seems like there’s a concerted effort to be exposing kids more and more to things that are not age appropriate.”
The governor’s comments came after a horrifying (warning: sexualized content) video made the rounds on social media of young children attending a drag show in Dallas, Texas (that’s right … Texas).
The video shows young children tipping the Drag Queens with cash, leading the “performer” to “drop it low” for the kids.
4. Former LGBT Individuals Celebrate Deliverance Through Christ During DC Freedom March: ‘There Is Hope’
From CBN:
A group of ex-LGBT Christians rallied in our nation’s capital recently to share their testimonies of how they’ve found healing and freedom in Jesus Christ.
As CBN News has reported, members of the Freedom March group have been touring the country for years, sharing the Good News with others, and offering hope to anyone else who might be seeking salvation from LGBT lifestyles.
This year’s event, which took place on Saturday, included live worship, testimonies, prayer, and a march from the Sylvan Theater to the Lincoln Memorial.
The Freedom March was started in 2018 by Jeffrey McCall, a former transgender who has come to know Christ and His unfailing love.
“Jesus died for them and loves them and wants to give them a new life,” McCall told CBN News in his ongoing quest to offer hope to LGBTQ individuals.
The movement concentrates on liberation from LGBT lifestyles, as well as learning how to begin a relationship with our Lord and Savior.
5. Sports Illustrated Fumbles Story on Coach Kennedy and Religious Freedom
From The Daily Citizen:
When I heard that Sports Illustrated (SI) did a story on Coach Joe Kennedy, my first thought was, “Why?” As faithful readers of The Daily Citizen know, the coach is the subject of a major freedom of religion case at the U.S. Supreme Court, which could hand down its decision any day. But that case is not about football or any other sport that SI covers.
The case involves the constitutional question of whether a public-school coach can lose his job for kneeling and praying quietly at the 50-yard line after a football game.
The coach’s story took place on a football field, but it wasn’t about the game itself. So why on earth would SI cover a legal case involving prayer?
Perhaps the title of the SI article gives it away: “When Faith and Football Teamed Up Against American Democracy.”
I’m scratching my head wondering: When was the last SI story on democracy?
6. Vindicating the Promise of America With Clarence Thomas
From Newsweek:
The following interview is an excerpt from Michael Pack and Mark Paoletta’s new book, Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words, out from Regnery this month. It has been lightly edited for clarity.
MP (Michael Pack): Would you say affirmative action is one of [those] instances where people are using racial discrimination to achieve a specific objective they think is best?
CT (Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas): To be honest with you, I don’t even know what “affirmative action” is. People come up with euphemisms, everybody is for something that affirmatively acts—to do what, I don’t know. Most people don’t know. Whatever it is, it’s often defined as equal opportunity, then it’s redefined as, “Let’s help the poor.” We could have done this easily by helping poor people. Let’s say we’re going to have classes on Saturday morning. I remember suggesting that back in the 60s and 70s. Okay, we’re going to have study halls on Saturday mornings that are monitored and with tutors. That’s affirmative action. That’ll catch you up in chemistry and math, etc. How many people would actually say, “Let’s go?” “Oh, no, no, no, I can’t do that.” But that’s affirmative action, that’s taking extra steps. So I think that we could have done it in ways, as a policy matter, that would not have run into the Constitution.
7. It’s time to worship in person again
From the Deseret News:
Earlier this year, Pew Research Center reported that only 27% of adults in the United States were attending worship services in person. The number is double what it was after COVID-19 first hit. But after climbing last summer, attendance has plateaued.
Why is this? Surely lingering health concerns are a factor for some people, but my experience tells me the roots run deeper.
Consider, for example, the problem of other people. As a Latter-day Saint who has worshiped weekly for several decades, I get why so many Americans are not keen to worship in person alongside their neighbors. People are the worst. They’re rude. They’re loud. They smell. They misspeak. They snub. They forget. Aside from family and a few close friends, I’m more comfortable in solitude, entertaining myself with a book and my thoughts. I’m with the 30% of my fellow citizens who prefer to continue watching church services online.
But I also know two other things: I’m one of those annoying neighbors, and even introverts like me need the refining influence of other people.
God gave us bodies for a reason. We cannot use and enjoy all our God-given senses through Zoom. A life lived too much via video conference is a life not fully lived. The physical presence of other people — with all the awkwardness and anxiety that may entail — is a freeway to expedited soul refinement. Without other people, we are doomed to pass through this brief existence with too many of our rough edges unrefined by the polish that comes only from the friction of association.
8. Southern Baptist Convention overwhelmingly passes 2 reforms on sexual abuse
From The Christian Post:
Messengers at the Southern Baptist Convention’s Annual Meeting overwhelmingly approved a series of abuse reform recommendations in the wake of a report detailing how some SBC leaders mishandled allegations of abuse and mistreated abuse victims.
On Tuesday, over 8,000 Southern Baptists gathered in Anaheim, California, where messengers approved two sets of recommendations, both of which contained subsections, proposed by the SBC sexual abuse task force.
The first main recommendation is to create an abuse implementation task force, while the second is to create a “ministry check” database to keep track of church leaders accused of sexual abuse.
9. Baby Boomers more likely to have multiple health issues than earlier generations
From Study Finds:
Baby boomers are more likely to live with numerous chronic health conditions than earlier generations, according to new research from Penn State and Texas State University.
Study authors warn that the growing rate of multiple chronic health conditions (multimorbidity) among older Americans represents a real health threat to the nation. If it continues, this trend will almost certainly place increased strain on the well-being of older adults, medical infrastructures, and federal insurance systems. On a related note, the amount of Americans over 65 is projected to increase by an astounding 50 percent by 2050.
The most common conditions seen in adults with multimorbidity (across all generations) were arthritis and hypertension. Additionally, some collected evidence suggests both high depressive symptoms and diabetes contributed to the observed generational multimorbidity risk differences.
10. Strange brew: Americans warned of China possibly spying through smart coffee makers
From the Washington Times:
The worst part of waking up could be the Chinese spying in your coffee cup.
American researcher Christopher Balding said he uncovered evidence that China is devouring data collected through smart coffee machines made in the communist country.
Mr. Balding’s report at New Kite Data Labs said problems with the internet-connected coffee machines are part of a broader data collection effort aimed at Internet of Things devices with low security and unclear data policies.
IoT home appliances include robotic vacuums and thermostats that use machine learning to keep temperatures comfortable.
“China is really collecting data on really just anything and everything,” Mr. Balding said. “As a manufacturing hub of the world, they can put this capability in all kinds of devices that go out all over the world.”
