High Schoolers Want to Give Bibles to Classmates During Lunch — but Weren’t Allowed

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Christian students in a Pennsylvania public school recently asked permission to pass out Bibles to classmates in the cafeteria during lunch — but the principal of Mechanicsburg Area Senior High School allegedly said no, and now a law firm is getting involved.

Jeremy Samek, senior counsel of the Independence Law Center, told WPMT-TV that November’s alleged request denial was the third time in the last two years that Christians in Action student club members have run into problems with the principal. . .

Mechanicsburg Area School District issued the following statement to WPMT in regard to the Bible controversy:

MASD is aware of the concerns presented by the Independence Law Center. We received a letter yesterday from the center alleging that a student group was denied permission to distribute Bibles. MASD respects the rights of students to express themselves and distribute materials. MASD also recognizes that exercise of that right must be limited by the District’s responsibility to maintain an orderly school environment and to protect the rights of all members of the school community. Accordingly, students do have the right to distribution of non-school materials prior to the start of the school day and after the end of the school day if they develop a plan for time, place and manner of distribution that is reviewed and approved by the administration. We plan to investigate the claims set forth in this letter and work with the students in accordance with the law and our local policy.

. . .

“The school has told these students that they cannot distribute Bibles to their classmates at any time during the school day,” he added to Fox News, “but students don’t lose their constitutional rights to speech when they enter the schoolhouse gate. Schools certainly have the right to limit it to non-instructional times and reasonable places but not to institute absolute bans during the school day, which is what they’ve done here.” (Read more from “High Schoolers Want to Give Bibles to Classmates During Lunch — but Weren’t Allowed” HERE)

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Zero Trump Mentions at 2019 Golden Globes

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Hollywood dispensed with what now constitutes years of tradition and declined to even mention Donald Trump at the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday. Not only was the president left out by hosts Andy Samberg and Sandra Oh, but he also went unmentioned by all the evening’s award recipients.

To be sure, there were a few nods made in Trump’s general direction. “Assassination of Gianni Versace” producer Brad Simpson provided perhaps the most overtly political moment of the night by calling on the audience to “resist in the streets, resist in the ballot box.” Christian Bale managed to get in some quick digs at Dick Cheney and Mitch McConnell. But that was about as direct as anyone got.

This marks the first Trump-free Globes ceremony since 2015. By comparison, both the 2017 and 2018 broadcasts were peppered with rebukes of Trump. Meryl Streep delivered her infamous “football and mixed martial arts” jab at the ceremony two years ago. All the way back in 2016, Ricky Gervais joked that Trump couldn’t wait to deport America Ferrera and Eva Longoria. . .

Either way, I suspect audiences will agree with Samberg, who in a preview of the show contended, “Everyone is depressed, and maybe that’s as good a reason as any that everyone could use a little time to laugh and celebrate. Not to ignore anything, but we spend so much time every day wallowing in a lot of things that are happening in  our world that are really depressing… but there’s also power to being positive and celebratory in the tougher times as well.” (Although to accomplish that feat, Samberg and Oh would have actually had to give us some reasons to laugh.) (Read more from “Zero Trump Mentions at 2019 Golden Globes” HERE)

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Liberals Calling for Boycott of Massive Music Festival – Here’s Why

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The owner of the famous Coachella music festival, Philip Anschutz, is a conservative. Despite the fact that his political leanings have been well-documented over the years, 2019 is apparently the year liberal fans of the event intend to make a fuss about it.

Anschutz, who is also the CEO of AEG, donated more than $1 million to conservative causes in 2016, and gave nearly $200,000 to Republicans in 2017. He has donated to Republican candidates dating back nearly 30 years.

Some people appear to just be finding out about this for the first time, and even though his personal political views and activities seem to be perfectly normal and have no impact on the festival itself, calls for a boycott began swelling on social media.

(Read more from “Liberals Calling for Boycott of Massive Music Festival – Here’s Why” HERE)

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Another Man Found Dead at Home of Democratic Donor

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In less than two years, two men have been found dead at prominent Democratic donor and LGBT community member Ed Buck’s West Hollywood home, a development that has West Hollywood council members and local LGBT leaders urging authorities to launch a full investigation.

At 1:05 a.m. Monday morning, West Hollywood sheriff’s deputies responded to a report that a person was not breathing at Buck’s Laurel Avenue apartment. Authorities say the person who called attempted to perform CPR, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene, the cause of death yet unknown.

“The dead man’s name has not been released, but Nicole Nishida, a spokeswoman for the Sheriff’s Department, said he was black,” the Los Angeles Times reports. “Buck previously was investigated for the death of another black man, the 2017 overdose of Gemmel Moore, 26.”

Authorities stated Monday that Buck was present for both deaths and announced that they are conducting a “thorough investigation” into the second death and that they will now reopen a “followup” investigation into Moore’s death, which occurred in July 2017.

“Investigators are conducting a thorough investigation, which includes follow up interviews and a secondary review of the July 27, 2017 incident,” the sheriff’s department said in a statement Monday. “As with the previous incident, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office was intimately involved in reviewing the facts of the case, and will be so in this case as well.” (Read more from “Another Man Found Dead at Home of Democratic Donor” HERE)

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30 Transgender Regretters Come out of the Closet

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. . .[Walt] Heyer has written several books on transgender regret, but his sixth and newest book, “Trans Life Survivors,” is not his personal story. It’s a compilation of the stories of many others caught up in today’s “transmania.” They specifically sought out Walt to get some much-needed support. They’ve shared their lonely, surreal experiences falling down the trans rabbit hole, hoping to escape as he did.

Walt’s correspondents describe a wide range of frustrating and confusing experiences. Some are nudged into transgenderism by social pressures and emotional manipulation. Many are hastily sent into surgery without adequate counseling (or any counseling at all), or are misdiagnosed. Some of those regret their decision very shortly after having irreversible surgery.

So “Trans Life Survivors” is a godsend for people struggling with trans regret, no matter what stage of transition or de-transition they are in. The book highlights 30 stories gleaned from among the many hundreds Heyer has received from his readers. Many more transgender people have contacted Walt over the years. Walt has been trying valiantly to keep up with the increasing volume of contacts. . .

In “Trans Life Survivors,” you’ll also read about “Blair,” who holds a Guinness World Record for most gender-reassignment surgeries: 167 surgeries to make him feel more like a woman. Needless to say, it didn’t work out. But we can easily suspect in his case the existence of surgical predators who take advantage of vulnerable people. Many others, like Michael, recognize that it’s all “a sick money-making industry.”

Others who have communicated with Walt include parents whose children are being pressured into gender transition by public school officials, social media, and pop culture. “Trans Life Survivors” also includes chapters on the medical realities of sex change as well as the politicization of medicine and psychiatry that locks people into a transgender identity. (Read more from “30 Transgender Regretters Come out of the Closet” HERE)

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Investigation Into Drive-By Shooting of Child Takes a ‘New Direction’

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Investigators are now calling the shooting of 7-year-old Jazmine Barnes a case of mistaken identity after witnesses believed a white man in a red pickup truck was responsible for her Dec. 30 murder, but officials said Sunday that two different men have been taken into custody and one has been charged with capital murder.

Barnes was killed while sitting in the backseat of her mother’s car with her three sisters as they drove out of a Walmart parking lot in northeast Houston on Dec. 30. Her mother, LaPorsha Washington, was also shot when a car pulled up and began spraying bullets.

The case garnered national attention after Washington said she believed the case to be a hate crime after she and her family identified the shooter in the apparently random attack to be a white male. . .

Authorities originally reported the suspect to be a white man driving a red pickup truck based on accounts of the shooting from Barnes’s family, but the Harris County Sheriff’s Office tweeted late Saturday that the investigation had “taken a new direction.”

Homicide investigators subsequently filed a capital murder charge against Eric Black Jr., 20, according to a statement from the sheriff’s office, who had been identified as a suspect based on a tip. He later admitted to taking part in the shooting.

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‪I’ll go ahead and state the obvious. 24 y/o Larry Woodruffe doesn’t fit the description offered by the 4 different witness statements or composite sketch. Accordingly, this tip was difficult to believe. Assuming the confession elicited is reliable— it is possible the previously identified suspect seen fleeing by several independent witnesses was a bystanader attempting to escape the shooting. To observers, however, he appeared to be the shooter himself. ‬More information will have to be drawn out before there is a conviction. Nonetheless, the community is collectively responsible for obtaining evidence that has led to a credible arrest and we are closer to answers. That much is laudable.

A post shared by S. Lee Merritt, Esquire (@leemerrittesq) on

(Read more from “Investigation Into Drive-By Shooting of Child Takes a ‘New Direction'” HERE)

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Actress Wants Fat-Shaming To Be Considered Hate Speech

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“Body positivity” has been a rallying cry for many celebrities and women’s organizations that claim being overweight is not unhealthy. Now one celebrity in particular wants to make “fat-shaming” — remarks intended to make someone feel bad over their weight — to be considered “hate speech.”

Actress Jameela Jamil from “The Good Place” announced last week that she would start a company based on her Instagram account, “I Weigh,” which focuses on body positivity. She announced her new company in a tweet last Wednesday and said one of the company’s “main goals is to work towards a policy change that means this way of talking about people’s bodies is considered hate speech.”

The tweet was a response to one from another Twitter user who posted photos from a tabloid depicting two female celebrities in bathing suits with captions. In one photo, Rebel Wilson wears a one-piece bathing suit with the caption: “The stand-up comedian, 29, made a big splash in Pitch Perfect, and does the same when she hits the surf!”

One might not necessarily see this as cruel, but the comment is made among other photos mocking celebrities for their looks, including Tara Reid’s “botched surgery.”

Another photo posted by the account shows “Glee” actress Lea Michele in a bikini bending over with the caption: “The 28-year-old singer’s most famous role was on Glee, but her biggest rolls are…” the photo cuts off. The image includes a circle around her torso and the words “roll player.”

(Read more from “Actress Wants Fat-Shaming to Be Considered Hate Speech” HERE)

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‘TransKids’ Site Sells Fake Penises for Girls Who Identify as Boys

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The website is called “TransKids,” and it’s “dedicated to providing young folks with gender expression gear and resources,” according to its homepage. . .

[Warning: explicit content]

For starters, there’s the “Masho,” which the site says is “a much requested prosthetic from Japan that we are able to offer in limited quantities.” In addition, the Masho “is angled downward for a more realistic and less ‘outstanding’ package. While designed for adults, this is one of the smaller packers on the market.” . . .

The Model E is “designed especially for younger folks (aprox. 8-13 years old)” and “are discreet enough that they can be worn all day under clothes. We offer a harness that can be used with this and this also comes with instructions on how to make your own harness out of a pair of underpants.” The site adds that “if your child was assigned female at birth but wants to stand up while urinating, [the Model E] just might work great for them.” . . .

Here’s what the site has to say about the extra small packer:

While most trans boys don’t start packing until they are teens or older, sometimes young kids want to have a prosthetic and what is on the market is really just too big for most folks under 10 years old. So our friends who make our Silicone Packers, came up with a mini version for young and/or smaller kids. Now these may look “too” tiny to some, but we have done a lot of research and think these are pretty accurate in their overall size. That said they are a scaled down version of a larger Packer, so the proportion is not what you might see attached to an AMAB [assigned male at birth] kid.

(Read more from “‘TransKids’ Site Sells Fake Penises for Girls Who Identify as Boys” HERE)

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Report: Women Speak of Nuns Allegedly Sexually Abusing Them When They Were Kids

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. . .CBS News broadcast a segment with reporter Nikki Battiste in which Battiste detailed instances of nuns abusing children. The segment began by noting an organization titled The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP). . .

A former nun who works with SNAP, Mary Dispenza , said by working with SNAP she periodically heard of instances where nuns abused children sexually, noting that since a grand jury named hundreds of priests who were pedophiles in Pennsylvania, at least 18 people informed her that they had been subject to sexual abuse by nuns.

Dispenza told CBS News, “The demands of chastity and celibacy are unrealistic demands for many of us.” She recalled her own experience when a superior told her to come to her room: “I knelt down right next to her and she kissed me all over softly, my face … and I want to say, ‘Oh but it wasn’t bad,’ but it was. And I’ve carried it with me until today.” When Battiste asked her why there had not been news about abuse by nuns before, Dispenza answered, “A lot has to do with the culture of nuns which are, they are very, very private by nature.”

Battiste interviewed a woman named Trish Cahill, who spoke of her alleged abuse when she was 15. Cahill said she told a nun named Eileen Shaw at a convent in New Jersey her dark secret: that her uncle, a priest who had since died, had allegedly sexually abused her from the time she was five years old. Cahill said of Shaw, “I would have done anything for her. I would have died for her. She gave me everything that was lacking that I didn’t even know I was lacking. I was so broken. She filled in all those pieces.”

But Cahill alleged Shaw was “grooming” her, utilizing drugs and alcohol while she initiated a sexual relationship with her. Cahill remembered, “I’m with my friends during the day. And I’m with this pedophile nun on the evenings and on the weekends, and in the summer.” In 1994, Cahill reported Shaw’s actions to the sisters of charity of St. Elizabeth, which settled with her out of court for $70,000. She said, “They had canon lawyers on retainer just for people like me. Shut her up, pacify her, tell her you love her and you’ll pray for her, and send her on her way.” (Read more from “Report: Women Speak of Nuns Allegedly Sexually Abusing Them When They Were Kids” HERE)

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Democrat Introduces Bill to Remove Words ‘Husband’ and ‘Wife’ From Federal Law

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Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Calif., is introducing a bill to rewrite federal laws with gender-neutral terms, codifying the progressive ideological tenet that distinctions between men and women are exclusionary.

Her bill, according to The Hill, would replace the terms “husband” and “wife” in federal law with the word “spouse.”

“While the landmark Supreme Court decision ending the ban on same-sex marriage was a historic step in the right direction, there is still more work to be done to ensure that the LGBTQ community is treated equally under the law in all respects,” Brownley said. “Our words reflect our values, and every gendered reference in our federal code undermines and de-legitimizes same-sex couples.”

She added that her bill will “recognize and re-affirm that all Americans have the right to marry the person they love, to ensure no one is denied federal benefits and protections because of who they love, and more broadly to make sure that same sex couples are treated equally under the law in all respects.”

Brownley introduced a similar bill in the last Congress that went nowhere. But now Democrats are in charge, so don’t be surprised if this time the legislation gets a vote. (For more from the author of “Democrat Introduces Bill to Remove Words ‘Husband’ and ‘Wife’ From Federal Law” please click HERE)

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