Angela Merkel Doesn’t Believe in Gay Marriage – ‘I Don’t Want Discrimination… But I Make a Difference at Some Point’

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The German Chancellor backed equal benefits for same-sex couples – such as tax breaks – and said that while discrimination should be “eliminated” she drew a “difference” between civil partnerships and marriage.

But the committed Christian, who has been married twice, gave her personal definition of marriage as ‘a man and a woman living together’, in a YouTube interview with Florian Mundt, a YouTube known under the alias LeFloid who has a significant online following.

“I’m someone who is very supportive of us eliminating all discrimination. We have come a long way; when I remember, 25 years ago, many people didn’t dare to say that they are gay or lesbian,” she said, according to the Huffington Post . . .

Ms Merkel went on to say stress that marriage should be strictly defined as between a man and a woman, adding: “I am for registered civil partnerships. I am for our not having any discrimination in tax legislation. And wherever we still find discrimination, we will continue to dismantle it,” according to German broadcaster Deutsche Welle.

Explaining further, the German leader said: “I don’t want discrimination and [I want] equality, but I make a difference at some point.” (Read more from “Angela Merkel Doesn’t Believe in Gay Marriage – ‘I Don’t Want Discrimination… But I Make a Difference at Some Point'” HERE)

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Actress Patricia Heaton’s Message to MSM About Planned Parenthood Butcher, ‘Hannibal’

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Patricia Heaton, who starred on the classic CBS series “Everybody Loves Raymond” and currently stars in ABC’s “The Middle,” used her social media savvy to blast Planned Parenthood — and the liberal media — after a video released Tuesday that shows a top executive with the organization engaging in the sale of aborted baby body parts.

The video showed Dr. Deborah Nucatola, Planned Parenthood Federation senior director of medical services, bragging about how she can abort babies with enough precision to be able to sell their body parts afterward.

(Read more from “Actress Patricia Heaton’s Message to MSM About Planned Parenthood Butcher, ‘Hannibal'” HERE)

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‘No Freaking Way!’ Teachers Revolt Over Union’s Endorsement of Hillary Clinton

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For a union built on democracy, activist teachers are wondering how the American Federation of Teachers could have possibly endorsed Hillary Clinton for president without them knowing about it.

Candi Peterson, Washington (D.C.) Teachers’ Union, penned an article at Common Dreams in which several die-hard union activists appeared to be utterly befuddled by the national union’s sudden announcement.

Chicago activist Katie Osgood says, “I know many AFT members too and have not heard one person polled either.” The union claimed it polled members on their opinions.

According to the calculation of “Mr. Stevens,” only .04 percent of members were surveyed.

New York City teacher Arthur Goldstein tells the news site, “…AFT Link says they used telephone town halls and a web-based survey, I didn’t even know existed.” (Read more from “‘No Freaking Way!’ Teachers Revolt Over Union’s Endorsement of Hillary Clinton” HERE)

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The End of Boys and Girls: These Companies Are Going to Change How Your Kids Dress [+video]

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Ever since Jaya Iyer’s daughter was a toddler, she had been fascinated by Saturn and its icy rings. When Swaha turned three, she had a space-themed birthday party. But when her mom went to find clothes with space images for Swaha, she couldn’t find any. They were all in the boys section.

So the 41-year-old mother of two, who has a doctorate in fashion merchandising, started her own business called Svaha (which is how her daughter’s name is pronounced) to sell clothes that upend gender stereotypes. One shirt features a grinning green stegosaurus, the plates on its back adorned with polka dots. A second comes in a blazing pink hue, with an astronaut planting an American flag on the moon. That one should satisfy her daughter. “She was very upset with me for not ever buying her anything with astronauts on it,” Iyer says. “Then she started telling me: ‘I want a ninja on my shirt.'”

Svaha is one of several startups that have emerged in recent years with the goal of changing the standards that govern what kids wear. These upstarts aren’t looking to replace current kid’s apparel entirely. Instead, their founders say they want to provide children with more options. Handsome in Pink says it’s all right for boys to wear pink and purple. BuddingSTEM offers science-themed garb for girls. Perhaps the buzziest label is Princess Awesome, which raised more than $200,000 in a successful Kickstarter campaign, showing demand for pirate-themed dresses and girl’s apparel covered in the symbol for pi. Most of the ventures remain in early stages as online-only entities using crowdfunded or bootstrapped cash to sell small numbers of shirts or dresses.

Several of the startups share a common origin: They were borne out of parental frustration with major retailers. Simply shopping in the opposite gender’s section isn’t the answer, these parents say. Cultural norms mean that as kids get older, designating certain items as male or female can confuse and frustrate them. A girl may not want to wear something designated for boys, and vice-versa.

“Most kids and parents are going to the big retailers and seeing all these messages of what its means to be a boy or a girl,” says Sharon Choksi, co-founder of clothing line Girls Will Be. Choksi’s daughter Maya, now 10, never liked sparkles or “feminine” colors, so the Choksis would shop for Maya in the boys’ section. As Maya got older, Choksi worried that “boy” and “girl” labels would unnecessarily upset her daughter. (Read more from “The End of Boys and Girls: These Companies Are Going to Change How Your Kids Dress” HERE)

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Franklin Graham ‘Outraged’ by Oregon’s New Policy That Allows Teens to Undergo Gov’t-Subsidized Sex Change Operation Without Parental Consent

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Rev. Franklin Graham has condemned what he calls an “ludicrous” new policy put into effect in Oregon which permits teenagers to get a state-subsidized sex change without their parents knowledge or permission.

“In Oregon 15-year-olds are NOT legally allowed to do a lot of things: drive, smoke, get a tattoo, go to a tanning bed, or even donate blood,” Graham, who is the president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse, wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday. “But unbelievably, now they ARE allowed to get a sex-change operation-and (get this) without parental notification. You’ve got to be kidding me! As a parent and grandparent I’m outraged, and I don’t even live in Oregon! And to top it off, the state will even pay for it through its Medicaid program. What kind of ludicrousness is this? It’s wrong from every angle. The state should not be superseding God-given parental authority. This is another example of why Christians should get involved in politics and policy at all levels to bring about change for the better in our society.”

While 15 is the medical age of consent in the state, according to Oregon Health Authority spokeswoman Susan Wickstrom, the decision to cover sex-change operations specifically was made by the Health Evidence Review Commission (HERC) after “little debate,” Fox News reports.

“HERC changed its policy to include cross-sex hormone therapy, puberty-suppressing drugs and gender-reassignment surgery as covered treatments for people with gender dysphoria, formally known as gender identity disorder,” the report reads.

The new policy also does not require parental consent for cross-sex hormone therapy, puberty-suppressing drugs and sex reassignment surgeries, as doing so “would lead to more suffering and teen suicide attempts.” (Read more from “Franklin Graham ‘Outraged’ by Oregon’s New Policy That Allows Teens to Undergo Gov’t-Subsidized Sex Change Operation Without Parental Consent” HERE)

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Are Gays ‘Born That Way’? Most Americans Now Say Yes, but Science Conclusively Says No

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For the first time, a majority of Americans say that homosexuals are “born that way.”

According to the latest Gallup poll, 51 percent of Americans say that people are born gay or lesbian, while only 30 percent say outside factors such as upbringing and environment determine sexual orientation.

However, science would not bear that out. No fewer than eight major studies from around the world have found homosexuality is not a genetic condition.

Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council says that these numerous, rigorous studies of identical twins have now made it impossible to argue that there is a “gay gene.” If homosexuality were inborn and predetermined, then when one identical twin is homosexual, the other should be, as well.

Yet one study from Yale and Columbia Universities found homosexuality common to only 6.7 percent of male identical twins and 5.3 percent of female identical twins. (Read more from “Are Gays ‘Born That Way’? Most Americans Now Say Yes, but Science Says No” HERE)

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Has the Twilight Zone Episode “The Obsolete Man” (Almost) Come True?

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“Imagine, if you will, a time and place where there is no history because there are no books. There is no religion because there is no Bible. But even before the Bible was eliminated, God was disproven and banned from worship or mention. The only thing that exists is The State, run by a small group of elites who rule and judge according to their own beliefs, or lack thereof…”

Rod Serling wrote about this type of world in a 1961 episode of The Twilight Zone called, “The Obsolete Man“–and the similarities with today’s world are stunning.

The story, similar to Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, takes place in a future totalitarian America. ‘Romney Wordsworth’ (played by Burgess Meredith) is on trial for the crime of being obsolete, unworthy of life. His occupation, a librarian, is considered a crime punishable by death, as is his belief in God. He is being prosecuted by the Chancellor, who deems that Wordsworth is not an asset to the State and thus needs to be eliminated.

The opening, narrated by Rod Serling:

You walk into this room at your own risk, because it leads to the future; not a future that will be, but one that might be. This is not a new world: It is simply an extension of what began in the old one. It has patterned itself after every dictator who has ever planted the ripping imprint of a boot on the pages of history since the beginning of time. It has refinements, technological advancements, and a more sophisticated approach to the destruction of human freedom. But like every one of the super states that preceded it, it has one iron rule: Logic is an enemy, and truth is a menace. (Camera switches to the convicted man) This is Mr. Romney Wordsworth, in his last forty-eight hours on Earth. He’s a citizen of the State, but will soon have to be eliminated, because he’s built out of flesh and because he has a mind. Mr. Romney Wordsworth, who will draw his last breaths in the Twilight Zone.

(Read more from “Has the Twilight Zone Episode “The Obsolete Man” (Almost) Come True?” HERE)

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Obama’s Education Secretary Loves Common Core for Your Kids, but NOT HIS

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By Eric Owens. Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s wife has moved to Chicago so the couple’s two daughters can attend the University of Chicago Lab School, arguably the most elite private school in Chicago — and certainly among the most expensive.

Duncan has led the Department of Education since the outset of President Barack Obama’s administration. He will shuttle between Washington and Chicago for the remainder of Obama’s second term, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

The former chief executive of the Chicago Public Schools has been a forceful cheerleader for the Common Core State Standards Initiative, a set of K-12 math and language arts curriculum benchmarks and high-stakes standardized tests now being used in public schools in most states.

Duncan’s family moved into a home in an affluent area in northern Virginia when he became education secretary in 2009. His children attended public schools there in the intervening years. However, Virginia is not a Common Core state . . .

Duncan, who has bragged that he seeks employment policy guidance from Chicago street gang leaders, is not the only powerful Democrat who preaches the benefits of Common Core for America’s kids but then doesn’t actually allow his own kids to take part. (Read more from “Obama’s Education Secretary Loves Common Core for Your Kids, but NOT HIS” HERE)

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House Votes to Revive No Child Left Behind

By Michael Tennant. The Republican-led House of Representatives voted Wednesday to revive the unpopular, long-dead No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act — but just barely. The vote was 218-213, with 27 Republicans and all Democrats voting against the bill.

Even then, only some arm-twisting by the House leadership managed to save the bill. “For most of the roll call, the bill had more votes against it than in favor,” reported The Hill. “Many Republicans either held out their votes until the last minute or changed their votes under pressure from GOP leaders.”

The original No Child Left Behind Act, passed in 2002, was hailed as a bipartisan achievement of Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), then chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee; the late Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.); and President George W. Bush. The law expired in 2007, yet its mandates have continued in force.

“Why do states and schools continue to act as though No Child Left Behind is current law?” Representative Justin Amash (R-Mich.) asked in a Facebook post explaining his “no” vote on Wednesday’s bill. “Because Congress has continued to appropriate money for NCLB as though the funding authorization never expired! In other words, the program is legally dead, yet Congress continues to send federal funding to schools, with strings attached, as though the law remains in effect.”

The Obama administration has been all too happy to take advantage of the continued funding of NCLB, which has been despised by parents, teachers, schools, and states for its emphasis on standardized testing and centralization of education policy in Washington. The administration (probably illegally) granted NCLB waivers to states on the condition that they adopt Common Core standards. With 47 states having received waivers, it’s not hard to figure out why the allegedly voluntary, state-led Common Core has swept the nation. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Wacky World Continues: Dems Declare War on Words ‘Husband,’ ‘Wife’

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More than two dozen Democrats have proposed legislation that would eliminate the words “husband” and “wife” from federal law . . .

“The Amend the Code for Marriage Equality Act recognizes that the words in our laws have meaning and can continue to reflect prejudice and discrimination even when rendered null by our highest courts,” Capps said. “Our values as a country are reflected in our laws. I authored this bill because it is imperative that our federal code reflect the equality of all marriages.”

The Supreme Court ruled in June that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution means all states have to license same-sex marriages, a ruling that effectively ended the same-sex marriage debate in America. Capps said her bill was aimed at taking the next step, which is to ensure the United States Code “reflects the equality of all marriages.”

She said her bill would also have other benefits if it became law. In one example, she noted that U.S. law says it’s illegal to threaten the president’s wife, but says nothing about the president’s husband. (Read more from “Dems Declare War on Words ‘Husband,’ ‘Wife'” HERE)

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Judge Jails Kids for Refusing Lunch With Dad

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Three Oakland County children who refused to go to lunch with their father, as part of a bitter divorce and custody battle between their parents, are spending their summer in the county’s juvenile detention center, according to court records.

“We’ll review it when school starts, and you may be going to school there,” Oakland County Family Court Judge Lisa Gorcyca told the children during a June 24 hearing, referring to the center in Waterford Township called Children’s Village, where authorities house as many as 200 juvenile offenders.

Gorcyca, who blamed their mother for poisoning the children’s attitude toward their father, ordered the children be sent to the center for defying her orders — while in court — that they go to lunch with their father.

The children — ranging in age from 9 to 14 — were deemed in contempt of court last month by Gorcyca for disobeying her orders to “have a healthy relationship with your father” . . .

“But I do not apologize for — for not talking to him because I have a reason for that and that’s because he’s violent and he — I saw him hit my mom and I’m not gonna talk to him,” the boy said, later telling the judge, “I didn’t do anything wrong.” (Read more from “Judge Jails Kids for Refusing Lunch With Dad” HERE)

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