Did North Carolina Legislators Sell Their Souls for Dollars?

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How should we view North Carolina’s repeal of HB2, the so-called Bathroom Privacy Act?

It’s true that the state caved to the bullying tactics of the NCAA. But was it a complete capitulation? On one hand, the legislators took a step in the wrong direction. That’s why conservative organizations like ADF and FRC condemned the repeal. On the other hand, the legislators pushed back against LGBT activism. That’s why LGBT groups condemned the new bill. How do we sort this out?

Did North Carolina Give in to Bullies?

Let’s start with the negative.

Since the day HB2 passed, North Carolina has been bullied by big business, the media, and the world of sports and entertainment. “If you don’t repeal this mean-spirited bill, we will take our business elsewhere!”

Judging by the news reports, you’d think the state’s economy was floundering because of this pressure. The economy is actually thriving. It’s receiving some of the highest ratings in the nation in terms of overall health. As Lt. Gov. Dan Forest explained, the boycotts cost the state roughly one-tenth of 1 percent of its economy.

Why, then, did some legislators cave in when the NCAA gave them a 24-hour deadline to repeal HB2? Was it the bad publicity? Was it the importance of having these major college events brought back to the state? (After all, North Carolina just won the NCAA college basketball championship this week.)

Whatever the motivation, the capitulation seemed cowardly, as if money was more important than morality and popularity more important than principle.

As expressed by Kellie Fiedorek of ADF:

Sadly, North Carolina has failed families by giving in to hypocritical bullies like the NCAA and billion-dollar corporations. Every North Carolinian deserves to have their privacy respected in intimate settings like locker rooms and restrooms. One of government’s essential duties is to protect the citizens it governs, not to create uncertainty about whether showers and locker rooms will still be safe for women and girls. North Carolina’s economy is booming, so the state should not let the NCAA and others dictate the state’s policies and sell out their citizens’ interests based on flat-out lies about an economic doomsday that never happened.

LGBT Activists Didn’t Get What They Wanted

Still, things are not all bad. As former NC governor Pat McCrory explained, LGBT activists “did not get a full repeal of HB2.” (According to the HRC, McCrory’s support for the state’s compromise was a “kiss of death.”)

That’s why the editorial board of the left-leaning Charlotte Observer wrote:

Legislators and Gov. Roy Cooper hailed Thursday’s HB2 repeal bill as a compromise. In fact, it is nothing of the kind. It is a betrayal of the promises the governor made to the LGBT community and an entrenchment on discrimination by Republican legislators who have backed it all along.

Referring to the new bill, HB 142, the editors opined,

House Bill 142 literally does not do one thing to protect the LGBT community and locks in HB2’s most basic and offensive provision. It repeals HB2 in name only and will not satisfy any business or organization that is truly intolerant of an anti-gay environment and of a state that codifies discrimination.

HB2’s most fundamental requirement was that local governments cannot pass anti-discrimination ordinances that govern public accommodations such as restaurants and hotels. Under Thursday’s agreement, that is still true, until at least December 2020.

Return to the Status Quo

So where does this new bill leave us? How should we respond?

When it comes to bathroom privacy, the biggest thing the bill does is return to the status quo of 2015. This was before the Charlotte City Council passed a radical bill that would have in effect rendered all public bathrooms and locker rooms gender neutral. (This applied to public schools as well.)

As explained by law professor Greg Wallace, before “the Charlotte ordinance that sparked the debate, there were no laws regarding bathroom usage. If a man went into the women’s restroom, or vice versa … he’d likely be asked to leave, and if he refused, he could be arrested for trespassing.”

But, says the Charlotte Observer, “the legislation dodges the whole bathroom question. Charlotte’s ordinance allowed transgender individuals to use the public bathroom of the gender with which they identify. HB2 banned that. The new law does not specify what transgender people are to do.”

And that brings us back to where we were before 2016, which is not such a bad place.

Were there numerous instances of men posing as women in order to invade the ladies’ bathrooms and locker rooms? Not to my knowledge.

Were there male-to-female transgenders who appeared to be female getting kicked out ladies’ bathrooms? Not to my knowledge.

The NCAA is Happy With The Change

As the saying goes, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it. Yet that is just what the Charlotte City Council did in 2016 with its city ordinance, leading to the passing of HB2. This led to the national boycotts and bad publicity, which led to the partial repeal of HB2.

As much as LGBT activists and their allies are outraged by the state’s actions, things were not so terrible before 2016. That’s why the NCAA and the NBA had no problem with full participation in the state. That’s why PayPal planned to bring new business to Charlotte. That’s why entertainers like Bruce Springsteen and Ringo Starr were scheduled to perform here.

Even the NCAA recognized this in their announcement that they were lifting their boycott:

We recognize the quality championships hosted by the people of North Carolina in years before HB2. And this new law restores the state to that legal landscape: a landscape similar to other jurisdictions presently hosting NCAA championships.

Of course, the NCAA managed to make some politically correct (but logically bankrupt) statements. They referred to “the cumulative impact HB2 had on local communities’ ability to ensure a safe, healthy, discrimination-free atmosphere for all those watching and participating in our events.”

Can someone please tell me how allowing biological males to play on female sports teams and share their locker rooms ensures “a safe, healthy, discrimination-free atmosphere for all those watching and participating in our events”? Can anyone explain this? And what would the NCAA do if one of the nation’s top, male college players announced he was female? Would he/she be welcomed on the women’s teams?

Naturally, the NCAA was careful to say that “as with most compromises, this new law is far from perfect.” Nonetheless, the NCAA’s decision to reverse its boycott indicates that the old status quo was acceptable. Therefore, with the partial repeal of HB2, there was no reason to continue the boycott.

Hopefully the NBA and others will follow suit. But if they choose not to, I hope the people of North Carolina will say, “we will do just fine without you.”

Back to Where We Were

As for moral conservatives upset by the compromise, I have a word of encouragement. The sky is not falling. HB 142 will not empower male predators to pose as women so as to prey on children and women. Common sense will prevail. The people of North Carolina will not have to fear speaking up to a bathroom intruder.

And where does this leave transgenders? As in the past, if no one can tell that you have “transitioned,” then no one will protest your presence in a bathroom. Why would they?

But if you are clearly a biological male who identifies as female and you walk into a ladies’ room, don’t be surprised if some ladies ask you to leave.

“That’s unfair,” you might say.

But what about fairness to everyone else? What about fairness to the 99 percent who are not transgender? What about the women who have been sexually abused by men who are traumatized by a male presence in these private places — even if the male in question is totally harmless?

I can’t imagine the struggles that trans individuals live with and the difficult choices they make. But we can’t turn society upside down to accommodate the few struggling souls. Instead, we listen to the them and do our best to help them, but we also remember the needs of the vast majority.

In short, here in North Carolina, we’re back to where we were in 2015 but with a few more legislative safeguards in place.

Overall, that’s not so bad. (For more from the author of “Did North Carolina Legislators Sell Their Souls for Dollars?” please click HERE)

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The Leftist Attacks on Pence’s Moral Guidelines Are a Denial of Human Nature

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The left’s bizarre and almost hysterical reaction to Vice President Pence’s marital guidelines is not only off point. It misses the most essential point of all. Namely, that it’s Pence’s high esteem for women — and for the most important woman in his life, his own wife — that fuels his moral choices. At the same time, the leftist response reveals a glaring lack of self-awareness.

Uproar Over Pence’s Personal Rule

The uproar began last week when the Washington Post published Ashley Parker’s article, “Karen Pence is the vice president’s ‘prayer warrior,’ gut check and shield.”

The title of this article points to the key role Karen Pence plays in her husband’s life. You might think that would draw praise from feminists and leftists. But no. The article drew rabid responses, including Laura Chapin’s call at US News to “lock him up” (seriously).

Most of the criticism focused on one revelation. “In 2002,” Parker wrote, “Mike Pence told the Hill that he never eats alone with a woman other than his wife and that he won’t attend events featuring alcohol without her by his side, either.”

Chapin, a Democratic strategist, responded with this rant:

Then lock him up. Because if your only concept of women is whether you want to have sex with them, something is seriously wrong with you. It presumes women exist only in terms of how men define and perceive them, without autonomy or self-determination. Women exist solely for procreation, which is to be determined and directed by men.

Memo to Mike Pence and the other right-wing men: Women come in more categories than prey and invisible. And none of them want to have sex with you.

Still breathing fire, she concluded her article with this: “Whether Pence is in a room with a single woman is silly but irrelevant. What matters is the millions of American women, and women abroad, to whom his retrograde beliefs and policies pose a threat.” (She was also referring here to the fact that “Pence broke a tie in the Senate to OK legislation allowing states to bar Planned Parenthood from getting public health grants.”)

The Criticism Kept Coming

Not to be outdone, Bret Stephens of the Wall Street Journal tweeted, “The calling card of all religious fundamentalism: terror of women.” He referenced the tweet of Danish journalist Martin Burcharth: “How differrent [sic] is VP from Orthodox Muslim men? Mike Pence doesn’t eat alone with women.”

On my own Twitter feed, Susan wrote, “Christians will criticize Muslim women for wearing hijabs, but Pence would exclude their presence altogether. That oppression is OK though.”

Over at Vox, attorney Joanna L. Grossman opined that “the practice described by Pence in that 2002 interview is clearly illegal when practiced by a boss in an employment setting, and deeply damaging to women’s employment opportunities.”

Also at Vox, in more moderate tones, a female, evangelical university professor suggested that “good character is better than strict rules,” as if the two had to be in conflict. To the contrary, good character often results in strict rules, although strict rules alone hardly produce good character.

In truth, Mike Pence is exercising good, old-fashioned common sense that is all too rare these days.

Human Beings Get Tempted

Pence sees that it’s easy for human beings to fall into temptation. He made clear that he’s seen all too many marriages destroyed during his years in politics. He said:

I’ve lost more elections than I’ve won. I’ve seen friends lose their families. I’d rather lose an election. … Little old ladies come and say, ‘Honey, whatever you need to do, keep your family together.’”

What happens when you spend more time with a woman other than your wife? What happens when you share your victories and sorrows with someone other than your spouse? What happens when you put in late hours together, behind closed doors, leaning on one other for support? (One of Pence’s guidelines was never to work late alone with a female aid.)

The reality is that many, if not most affairs, begin with an emotional attachment rather than a physical attachment.

And let’s remember that Pence is not just protecting himself and his wife Karen. He’s also protecting the women who work for him. Some might grow attached to him and fall into the same dangerous cycle. (If I recall, President Clinton had a bit of a problem with one of his female interns.)

And just imagine what could happen if Pence was accused of sexual impropriety. As one of my Twitter followers observed, “The same liberals would be quick to judge and condemn him if he were to be involved in a sexual act outside of his marriage.”

Looking in the Mirror is Painful

Given all of this, why do so many on the left object to Pence’s rules? Are marriages so solid that safeguards aren’t needed? Is there a need to increase adultery in America? Should we declare war on fidelity?

As Frank Camp wrote on the Daily Wire:

Elected officials in Washington, D.C. are just as flawed as any other human being. Additionally, men and women in positions of power are more frequently the target of unwanted advances, unsubstantiated accusations, and tabloid speculation. Given the environment in which elected officials live, the limitations Pence applies to himself are admirable and prudent.

Camp is right. I for one am glad to have guard rails on the sides of mountainous roads. Or, for that matter, concrete medians in the center of a six-lane highways). And the most conscientious drivers are the first to put on their seat belts. As the old adage goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Or, in the words of the apostle Paul, “Let him who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).

That’s just what Mike Pence has done. He knows that overconfidence can kill. Many on the left, perhaps in denial of human sin, must concoct a different story for Pence’s guidelines. Ironically, in so doing, they reveal an aspect of our fallen nature, namely, our tendency to deceive ourselves about who we really are.

Sometimes it’s hard to look in the mirror. (For more from the author of “The Leftist Attacks on Pence’s Moral Guidelines Are a Denial of Human Nature” please click HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

President Trump Defunds UN Abortion Outfit Devoted to Population Control

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The State Department has said it will end U.S. funding of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), a group that promotes abortion overseas.

In a letter to U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, the State Department said it would not fund the UNFPA because it “supports, or participates in the management of, a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization.”

The State Department said its decision “was made based on the fact that China’s family planning policies still involve the use of coercive abortion and involuntary sterilization, and UNFPA partners on family planning activities with the Chinese government agency responsible for these coercive policies.”

The U.N. agency has been linked with human rights abuses around the world, including forced sterilizations and abortions in China.

Forced abortions and sterilizations were uncovered by pro-life journalists in China as recently as 2009. Since Reagan, only the Obama administration has funded the population control group.

The announcement takes Trump’s move to reinstate the Mexico City Policy one step further. That policy withholds U.S. funding for international organizations that perform or promote abortions. This cut will cost the UNFPA $32.5 million. (For more from the author of “President Trump Defunds UN Abortion Outfit Devoted to Population Control” please click HERE)

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When Protesters Knock Holes in the Free Speech Bus, They Knock Holes in the Truth About Sexuality

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My situation was familiar enough: I was waiting for a bus. My circumstances were somewhat unique, though, because I’d been waiting several days.

I was waiting for the “#FreeSpeechBus.” It’s a project of the National Organization for Marriage, along with CitizenGO and the International Organization for the Family. This bus is hard to miss: It’s bright orange, emblazoned with a message calculated to garner attention. Figures of a girl and boy, marked “XX” and “XY,” stand beside the words, “Boys are boys […] Girls are girls … and always will be. It’s biology.”

Aiming to spark renewed discussion over the rush toward transgender rights, the bus launched two Thursdays ago in Manhattan with a small press event. That afternoon, the trip came screeching to a halt. Figuratively, that is: for the bus was parked, when protesters spray-painted the sides with graffiti messages about “trans liberation,” and smashed holes in its windows with a hammer.

Buzzfeed Gets It Wrong

Though little noted Thursday morning, the bus quickly made headlines following the attack. Buzzfeed proclaimed, “This Bus Is On A Road Trip To Convince You That Transgender People Aren’t Real.”

Now, as the representative quoted in that piece, I can surmise the basis for this spurious charge. Asked whether we believe a “trans woman” is a woman, I answered, “No. We believe if you were born a man, you’re a man.” I stand by that. I object, though, to the claim in the headline. The article itself reveals the unfair inference: for I am also cited saying transgender people suffer a disorder. I stand by this as well.

Buzzfeed thinks I deny the “reality” of a class of people because I think they have a disorder. By “reality” they mean a group who must be approved as they are. Of course I believe transgendered people are real. I believe they are due respect and kindness. But I have to reject the notion that a person with male genitalia and a Y chromosome who “identifies” as a woman is, in fact, a woman. That’s what upsets Buzzfeed.

Another point Buzzfeed misconstrued is one of the tour’s key goals. I expressed a hope that people would speak up — to business owners, bosses, public officials — when they feel uncomfortable with persons of the opposite sex using their locker rooms or other intimate facility. I wasn’t calling for a witch hunt, nor declaring open season for bullying.

Compassion For All

I had been asked why we don’t hear many complaints in places where transgender “bathroom bills” have been implemented. I opined that this might have to do with the fact that people are afraid to speak up.

When one is labelled a “hater” or “bigot” for daring to disagree with the trans agenda, it’s small wonder more people don’t complain. As it happens, though, plenty do complain: We just don’t hear about it.

Take, for example, the lawsuit filed last week in Pennsylvania. A high school boy, uncomfortable undressing in front of a female peer who is now allowed to use the boys’ locker-room, approached the administration. They told him to “act natural.” His parents — the school hadn’t told them about the policy, by the way — received the same airy dismissal when they complained.

The Pennsylvania case indicates another aspect of the stilted reporting on our big orange bus. Generally, the press treats our campaign as lacking compassion. But we do have compassion: we just ask it for all involved.

We are compassionate toward those suffering gender dysphoria. But we are also compassionate to that boy in Pennsylvania and the many, many people like him. His concerns — his feelings, privacy, his body image, his struggles through the turbulent time of puberty — are ignored. He doesn’t matter. He is closed-minded and should lighten up, we are told. His needs are brushed aside in favor of his biologically female peer invading his privacy.

She Doesn’t Count Either

The problem’s even worse when a man invades women’s spaces. Here may be a woman suffering trauma: who, because of past victimization from a sexually violent man has a hard enough time disrobing in front of her peers — even in front of a mirror! — who has every right to be uncomfortable with the status quo progressio.

But she doesn’t count either. She, too, is labeled hateful and bigoted if she complains. She, too, should just lighten up. That man isn’t hurting her, we are told — by those who evidently have no idea how trauma works. Yes, in fact, he is.

After a few days, the #FreeSpeechBus got back on its route, and I was aboard. I hope that the advocates of tolerance don’t respond again to an idea with which they disagree by striking it with a hammer. My greater hope is that the bus and its message won’t be missed: because it is a message of simple truth about biology, and of compassion for those whose voices have been lost in this debate. (For more from the author of “When Protesters Knock Holes in the Free Speech Bus, They Knock Holes in the Truth About Sexuality” please click HERE)

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Coffee Shop’s Reward Card Makes It Look Like Trump, Conservatives Shot in Head

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A Pittsburgh coffee shop is offering incentives for its customers with a satirical punch card with images of President Donald Trump and conservative leaders.

The front of the rewards card is relatively benign, with 10 of the Black Forge Coffee House logos to punch, reports Fox News. But the back features 10 people management does not care for: Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, former Republican Sen. Rick Santorum, former Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee, infamous hedge fund founder Martin Shkreli, media mogul Pat Robertson, and three political pundits: Ann Coulter, Bill O’Reilly, and Rush Limbaugh.

When staff perforate the card to keep track of the perk, a hole appears on the picture of the figure. Some say the punctures in the card, which can eventually be redeemed for a free cup of coffee, make it look like the conservative icons are being shot in the head.

“We are definitely not advocating violence,” said Nick Miller, co-owner of the Black Forge Coffee House, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “This is purely political satire statement and an expression of frustration with the system” . . .

“It’s definitely been a rough couple of days. It escalated quickly and not to the intent that we wanted,” Ashley Corts, co-owner of the heavy metal themed shop, said in reference to the amount of adverse reactions they have received. According to Corts, several people called and made threatening statements, such as the suggestion that “someone should put bullets in our heads.”

(Read more from “Coffee Shop’s Reward Card Makes It Look Like Trump, Conservatives Shot in Head” HERE)

Ex-Navy SEAL Creates Veterans Organization to Expose Pedophiles and Rescue Trafficked Children

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To those paying attention, they are able to see the world has a horrifying problem with pedophilia and child trafficking. They are also able to see that the corporate media and the ruling class do very little to expose it — and, in fact, are often exposed for participating in it. However, an ex-Navy SEAL and several other veterans are attempting to stop this.

Veterans For Child Rescue (V4CR), as they note on their new website, “was formed specifically to EXPOSE that which has been covered up and suppressed – the dark and disgusting world of pedophile trafficking rings. These rings include members from every level of our society and involve unthinkable trauma inflicted upon innocent babies and children – the soul of our nation.”

The group, which is in the process of forming a 501c3 non-profit, was started by Former Navy SEAL Craig Sawyer and their aim is simple — expose child trafficking across the nation and save children from torture.

“Until now, pedophiles have enjoyed a counter-productive level of privacy from the media. That puts more children at risk,” a crowd-funding page for the organization states.

Together, we can work with federal and local law enforcement to help arrest these predators and liberate the child victims.

According to Veterans for Child Rescue, the members of the group make ups a VIPR Team (Veterans Investigating Pedophile Rings), and come from the highest levels of Military Special Operations, Federal Law Enforcement, International Counter-Poaching Operations, The Intelligence Community, The Diplomatic Community and Film & Television.

“This abuse must first be brought to light before it can be cleaned up. V4CR was created to shine that light! We will expose this crisis through joint operations with law enforcement and sharing the truth in an unflinching television documentary-series for the world to see. Through this, we hope to force stronger punitive legislation and create a non-permissive public environment to help reverse this life-shattering trend of abuse,” a statement on the group’s website reads.

As the Free Thought Project has consistently reported, these sickos dominate positions of authority and high-level government roles — worldwide. And when people come forward to expose them, they are met by the Praetorian guard who quickly labels such talk as conspiracy theory and pushes it to the fringe.

The YouCaring page that was set up to raise money for V4CR was pulled without notice on Friday and they were not given a reason, except that it was in “violation of our terms of service.”

While there is definitely no shortage of conspiracy theories on the matter, the facts we do know are horrific enough to cause grave concern.

As the Free Thought Project has pointed out, pedophilia among the elite is rampant. The problem has gotten so bad in England that officials issued an order last month to stop naming streets and landmarks after local heroes and politicians because they could later be exposed as pedophiles.

In February, the Free Thought Project reported on the fact that the police chief recently came forward and confirmed that the former Prime Minister of England, Sir Edward Heath, had raped dozens of children. The department also noted how those within the government helped cover up these crimes.

In December, we reported on the massive child sex ring that was blown apart in Norway. That investigation quickly led to arrests of “51 people, all men, (who) are so far involved in the case. 24 of them come from Hordaland and Sogn og Fjordane. 26 come from other areas of Norway, from Southeast to Finnmark in the north. Among the accused offenders, there is also one Swedish national. Two politicians, one Labor politician from Oslo and a former national Progress Party (FrP) politician from Eastern Norway are involved in the case.” One is also a kindergarten teacher, and four of the 51 arrested were perpetrators in the video evidence collected.

Domestically, however, these higher level arrests are few and far between as anytime ‘the elite’ are mentioned alongside the term ‘pedophile,’ the corporate media, shout down all those who dare pose any questions.

Case in point, former speaker of the house, Dennis Hastert.

In January, admitted child rapist and former speaker of the house who is currently in jail, Dennis Hastert came across our radar after he demanded one of the children he raped pay back the hush money given to him by Hastert — because he broke his silence about the rape.

Hastert admitted to raping little boys, yet he’s in jail for fraud, not pedophilia.

The good news is that because people are refusing to be silenced, the coverage of human trafficking even hit the mainstream last month in a horrifying episode of Dr. Phil. A former victim, who was born into the sex trafficking trade, came forward to implicate high-level government officials as well as police and civilians in their role in the trade.

According to the anti-Human Trafficking group, Polaris, located in D.C., the number of trafficked humans in the US is startling.

Since 2007, the National Human Trafficking Hotline, operated by Polaris, has received reports of 22,191 sex trafficking cases inside the United States.

In 2016, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children estimated that 1 in 6 endangered runaways reported to them were likely sex trafficking victims.

The International Labor Organization estimates that there are 4.5 million people trapped in forced sexual exploitation globally.

In a 2014 report, the Urban Institute estimated that the underground sex economy ranged from $39.9 million in Denver, Colorado, to $290 million in Atlanta, Georgia.

It is time to do something about this madness — and V4CR is doing just that. In spite of YouCaring pulling down their fundraiser, the group has started another at GoFundMe. As of Monday, they’ve already raised close to ten percent of their $500,000 goal.

(For more from the author of “Ex-Navy SEAL Creates Veterans Organization to Expose Pedophiles and Rescue Trafficked Children” please click HERE)

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And Then You Can Kill the Baby … Provided You Read the Right Font First

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Down through the annals of time, there have been some memorable quotes to inspire humanity to do away with grave injustices.

Recall this recognizable abolitionist battle cry: “You can’t own another human being unless his papers are properly notarized!”

Riveting.

Or maybe you’ll remember how the women’s suffrage movement was spurred to action by Susan B. Anthony’s “if you like it, then you should’ve put a ring on it.”
Spine tingling.

I could go on citing others, but they would all pale in comparison to this ultimate mic drop courtesy of the Kansas state legislature: “you can’t kill that baby until you read our 12-point, Times New Roman font first!”

That’s right. The latest “pro-life” bill from one of the reddest states in the Union says it’s okay to kill a kid, provided you read some disclaimer information first. Which the state demands be written in 12-point, Times New Roman font. Apparently we’re now more concerned about layout uniformity than we are when life begins, or the One we’re responsible to for not protecting it.

Move over Braveheart, Knute Rockne, and Winston Churchill — for you now have company in the fiery quote department. C.S. Lewis, J.R.R Tolkien, or Maya Angelou, couldn’t have coined a phrase any better. In fact, it might just be time to go ahead and retire the English language altogether after this. For I can’t imagine anyone commanding our native tongue with more panache.

I kid, though, because I care.

For several reasons, the pro-life cause is my top priority. To wit:

It’s more than a litmus test, it’s a window to the soul. If I’ve learned one thing during my decade-plus in politics, it’s that I can tell you exactly how principled and trusted an elected official will be based solely on their stance on life.

It’s the gateway unalienable right. As Reagan once said, “All of your other God-given rights are sort of a moot point if you don’t have the right to life.”

The most precious natural resource for any civilization is its children. They represent future existence itself, let alone a culture’s hopes for the next generation, and the sustaining of its way of life. For example, who knows what precious talent has been wasted among the 56 million American babies we’ve killed the past 44 years. Could one of them have discovered the cure for cancer, pioneered a new clean and renewable energy source, or made some other transformative contribution to society?

My 15-year old mother had a choice to make once Roe v. Wade was declared. Thankfully, for me, she chose life when so many others in her situation did not. Nothing drives home the point of what we’re really talking about here than realizing you were one decision away from being unjustifiably executed.

Finally, if those reasons aren’t good enough for you try this one. The maker of Heaven and Earth, not exactly a being you want to be on the wrong side of, says He “hates hands that shed innocent blood.”

More Americans have perished via the abortion holocaust than all the wars this country has fought in combined. If the amount of persons we’ve killed via abortion were their own country, they’d be the 24th most populous nation on Earth. With more people than Spain, South Africa, Iraq, Australia, and Canada.

Needless to say, the abortion holocaust is the moral crisis of the age. And yet, when staring into the mouth of madness, the best we can muster against such evil is this bureaucratic drivel. But before you get on your high horse, consider this is actually an upgrade compared to what some pro-lifers were advocating in Montana in 2015. Where they wanted a bill that said it was perfectly fine to kill a kid provided he/she was anesthetized first.

At least what Kansas is pulling here is just another lame attempt to earn some pro-life Webelos badge for politicians, so they can claim they did something by doing nothing. I mean, could you imagine the homosexual lobby being satisfied with “you can still get your ‘marriage’ license, provided you read Romans 1 in the original King James first?” Yeah, me neither. But they actually are trying to win, so they don’t pull nor are satisfied with cheap political parlor tricks like this.

Sadly, what was being advocated in Montana wasn’t lame but wrong. Imagine if we said a child murderer could escape prosecution provided he anesthetized the young boy first? Check it, that’s exactly what we said. Unless now we, pro-lifers, also don’t believe life begins at conception? If that’s the case, we’re really no different substantively from our opponents. We just find abortion-on-demand icky.

There’s a difference between being pro-life and anti-abortion. One seeks to eradicate this blight on our supposedly enlightened society. The other merely seeks to regulate it down to “acceptable” levels and practices.

It is a testimony to how much God values life, and the righteous nobleness of our cause, that we pro-lifers have made the strides we have given how confusing our messaging and tactics seem to be. We consistently try to win our argument by granting our opponents’ premise.

Like we often have quality of life arguments (as in when does a child feel pain) and not sanctity of life arguments (as in when is a child a child). The former is the same utilitarian basis for the child-killing industry we’re trying to stop. The latter is the actual humanitarian basis for our mission.

This is one of the reasons why we often tout a bittersweet achievement — the largest annual march on our nation’s capital. Yes, we should note the courage of conviction it takes for thousands upon thousands of activists to make the wintry trek to chilly Washington, D.C. each January. However, does any noble cause really want to celebrate its 44th annual march? Shouldn’t our goal be to not need a 45th annual march, or a 55th annual march, or a 65th annual march?

We say so in our hearts, but not always in our minds as a movement.

Not when we waste precious political capital on just drug the kid first, or read the fine print ahead of time. Or bills that prohibit killing prior to a certain stage of prenatal development, which the likes of Gosnell just ignore anyway because they know states won’t enforce them (and Pennsylvania didn’t in his case). Let’s face it, if your conscience is seared to the point you don’t think twice about murdering innocent humans for a living, simply lying about the particulars of what you’re doing isn’t a bridge too far in the integrity department.

The killing won’t stop until we make it stop. And we won’t make it stop until we actually concoct a strategy with that goal in mind. Just make sure that strategy is in 12-point, Times New Roman font. (For more from the author of “And Then You Can Kill the Baby … Provided You Read the Right Font First” please click HERE)

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Big Nanny Republicans? West Virginia Proposes GOP-Backed Soda Tax

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There are basically two schools of thought on the purpose of the tax code. One is to raise revenue to fund the essential functions of government, whatever those may be. The other is to use taxes as a carrot and a stick, rewarding behaviors the government finds desirable and punishing those that it doesn’t. America’s founders, the architects of the original tax code, would have found this second function, in which taxes are used for social engineering, unthinkable and against the very nature of the limited-government power structure they proposed. And yet controlling people’s behavior has become an increasingly important function of tax policy, despite its implications for individual freedom and independence.

This is the rationale behind the soda tax. It is asserted that America is undergoing an obesity “epidemic,” an insulting use of the term that falsely analogizes personal lifestyle choice to disease. It is therefore assumed that it is the responsibility of the government to “cure” the disease of people consuming too much sugar and fat.

This used to be an idea that was only proposed by meddling Democrats who think their mission in life is to tell other people what to do. Sadly, that appears to be the case no longer, as a soda tax proposal taking hold in West Virginia is being pushed by Republican lawmakers.

The proposed tax would charge five cents for every 16.9 fluid ounces of soda sold, a tax that would be split between consumers and retailers depending on how strong the demand. Five cents may not sound like much extra to pay, but consider that it represents a 400 percent increase on the rate at which soda is currently taxed. Additionally, two other bills have been introduced in the West Virginia legislature that would increase soda taxes a further one and two cents respectively.

One could argue that these incremental increases in price won’t actually have an effect on consumer choices, but both logic and empirical evidence contradict that claim. At any price, there are presumably some people who are already paying as much as they are willing to pay for soda. Increase that price, even a little bit, and they will substitute a more affordable beverage. It is these marginal consumers who account for the changes in the quantity of goods demanded when prices change. Evidence in cities where soda taxes have been specifically levied has shown us that higher prices do result in less soda sold.

For example, in Philadelphia, where the government imposed a 1.5 cent-per-ounce tax on sodas, distributors reported a drop in sales of between 30 and 50 percent that would potentially force layoffs. If this sales shock seems disproportionate to the amount of tax levied, it’s important to remember that there is a psychological component to consumer behavior as well as a financial one. Where I live, in Washington, D.C., the government levies a five-cent tax on plastic bags used at grocery stores. Almost everyone can afford an extra nickel added to their grocery bill, but many people have changed their behavior anyway, not because of the money, but because they don’t like the idea of being taxed any more than they already are. The same phenomenon is no doubt in effect in Philadelphia and would be evident in West Virginia as well.

There are lots of reasons to oppose a soda tax. Personally, I object to a central authority trying to modify citizen behavior, as if we are rats in a laboratory cage. But for those more pragmatic than I, another objection is the cost to the economy of making consumption — or, to be more accurate, the production that drives consumption — more difficult. Even without changes in consumption, the proposed tax would suck $75 million out of the economy each year, according to the Tax Foundation. Combine that with the layoffs and general decline in economic activity, and you’re looking at some serious harm to West Virginia, a state that already struggles economically.

Finally, there’s the fairness argument. Soda taxes have repeatedly been found to be regressive, meaning that they fall hardest on those Americans with the lowest incomes. “Tax the rich” may be a persuasive populist sentiment, but since when is “tax the poor” an equally good substitute? How about instead, we live within our means and don’t try to use the tax code for social engineering? Republicans in West Virginia need to get back to their roots and remember that conservatism is all about personal autonomy, limited government, and a nation in which individuals are free to choose. (For more from the author of “Big Nanny Republicans? West Virginia Proposes GOP-Backed Soda Tax” please click HERE)

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Women’s Rights Activist Slam UN Agency’s Support of China’s Forced Abortions

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. . .One of [WRWF Founder and President, Reggie Littlejohn,] recommendations regarding how the UN can help the women and babies of China is by investigating UNFPA’s activities in China, demanding transparency, and in the case of a lack of cooperation, defunding UNFPA. Littlejohn states: “The United States Secretary of State should investigate and evaluate UNFPA’s activities in China, and the President should de-fund them under the Kemp-Kasten Amendment, which ‘prohibits funding for any organization or program that, as determined by the President, supports or participates in the management of a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization.’”

“UNFPA has been found to be complicit with coercive population control in China in the past, and I have no doubt that any unbiased investigation would find them complicit again. I have long advocated for the defunding of UNFPA. The U.S. cut off funding to UNFPA in 2002 because an investigation, headed by then Secretary of State Colin Powell, found that UNFPA was complicit with the Chinese Family Planning officials in coercive implementation of China’s one-child policy. The Obama administration restored this funding. The UNCSW – as the advocate for women’s rights within the United Nations – should press relentlessly on the UNFPA to be fully transparent and accountable regarding its ‘family planning’ activities in China. I believe that any independent, unbiased investigation into UNFPA’s activities in China will lead to the inescapable conclusion that they are complicit with China’s population control practices, which include forced abortion and involuntary sterilization. To the extent that the global community is funding the UNFPA, the blood of Chinese women and babies is on our hands.” (Read more from “Women’s Rights Activist Slam UN Agency’s Support of China’s Forced Abortions” HERE)

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Undermining Parents, School Secretly Recruits Children for Gay-Straight Alliance Meetings

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“We’re keeping it kind of on the down low because this is North Idaho,” school principal Mary Jensen said. In a recording obtained by Liberty Counsel, she admitted, “Kids who wanted to participate in the club did not necessarily want their parents to know.”

Faculty at Forrest M. Bird Charter School in Sandpoint, Idaho, secretly recruited students to join the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance. They started the group with help from local LGBT activists. Some of the secret meetings weren’t even held at the school.

Legal Violations

Two parents learned about the meetings when their child forgot lunch. The mother took lunch to the school and found her child at the meeting. They objected. Their child, “Student Doe,” has high-functioning autism and gender dysphoria. The school ignored their request.

In response, Liberty Counsel sent the school a letter, listing several ways the school had violated the law. The school refused to back down, so the parents withdrew their child from the school.

“It is outrageous that this school would intentionally undermine parental rights in this manner,” said Liberty Counsel’s Mat Staver. “Parents have the fundamental right to know about and direct the activities and associations of their minor children.”

The school had no right to start the club, he said. It was “inappropriate” for school employees to lead and recruit for the GSA in their official roles. He argued that the school violated the state’s Code of Ethics for teachers. The code prohibits “using institutional privileges … for the promotion of political activities.”

The school posted statement on its website claiming it did not violate the law. According to a Liberty Counsel lawyer, the school defiantly asserted in a letter responding to the legal aid group. The school said it “will not comply with [the] demand” for its teachers to be present in a supervisory, rather than activist, capacity.” The school did say it will refrain from recruiting more students. However, it refuses to divulge the names of current student members to their parents. Liberty Counsel and its clients are looking at legal action.

The school believes it is helping kids by teaching them that identifying as transgender has no harmful effects. But according to the National Institutes of Health, as many as 94 percent of students questioning their gender identify with their biological gender by 18.

Liberty Counsel urges parents to contact the school’s board of directors. Parents should demand that the school board respect parental rights. The school staff who violated the Idaho Teacher Code of Ethics should be reprimanded. Parents have a fundamental right to direct the activities of their minor children.

The school’s parent/student handbook requires a permission slip for field trips. Anyone other than a parent who picks up a child must have a note. But the school does not require a note for a child to get LGBT propaganda

Jensen admitted on the recording that the faculty started the club. “The adults … we spent months trying to do this thing.”

Jensen was recorded admitting, “We decided not to do activism at first, because that’s a big step.” She went on, “Once they get the club going, the next step is to start community events —probably next year.” (For more from the author of “Undermining Parents, School Secretly Recruits Children for Gay-Straight Alliance Meetings” please click HERE)

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