House Votes to Cut Funds for Universities Over Gay-Themed Books

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Photo Credit: REUTERSThe South Carolina House of Representatives approved nearly $70,000 in cuts to two public universities on Wednesday in retaliation over reading material containing homosexual themes, a move decried as “censorship” by critics but called necessary by supporters.

The House approved the cuts to the College of Charleston and the University of South Carolina-Upstate as part of the 2014-2015 budget bill after bids by Democrats to restore the funding failed. The bill now heads to the Senate.

Republican state Rep. Garry Smith proposed $52,000 in cuts to the College of Charleston and $17,142 in cuts to the USC-Upstate. The amount represents the costs of the schools’ required-reading programs.

The College of Charleston’s program selects one book a year for the entire campus to read, which this year was Alison Bechdel’s “Fun Home,” a memoir about the author growing up as a lesbian in rural Pennsylvania. USC-Upstate’s program has first-year writing students all read the same book, which this year was “Out Loud: The Best of Rainbow Radio,” a compilation of stories shared on South Carolina’s first radio station for gays and lesbians.

Smith told FoxNews.com he received complaints from constituents who have children at both schools. He said when they or their students objected to the books’ content, they were told they could not read an alternative book.

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Former MLS Player Lost his Battle with Cancer, but He Won So Much More

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Photo Credit: The Kuykendall FamilyIf you were to ask about the greatest play of Shawn Kuykendall’s life, it was the day he learned that he was going to die…

“We are all given this great gift of life and we have this finite time to do whatever we want. So we live the best we can, and for me, that means living the way I think God wants me to live. I need God more than ever now.” There was a pause as he rubbed his head, once full of dark flowing hair, now bald from the chemo.

“So praise be to God. I’m not going to waste time being sad or worried or scared. I have to fight. If I trust in him and fight, everything else will take care of itself.” We sat in silence for a moment. I mean, how do you follow up a thought like that? Well, if you’re Shawn …

“But seriously, can we talk about Liverpool’s buildup play? Four passes to get up the field and a shot on goal. Four passes!? Bazilly.” That was his essence. A thoughtful, spiritual, athletic, and vibrant soul. Shawn radiated life and love. Some people would call it style. Shawn would probably have called it swag. I believe it to be faith. Whatever “it” was, people loved him for it. Hundreds and thousands of people loved Shawn Kuykendall.

It was all very much worth it. None of it was wasted. Everything went to plan.

Shawn won.

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The War On Women Continues… Because We Use The Word ‘Bossy’

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Photo Credit: IJ Review Facebook’s COO Sheryl Sandberg and the Girl Scouts of America have united to confront the issues that are really affecting females the world over. Step one: ban the word “bossy.”

Sandberg’s organization, LeanIn.org, is aimed at helping women achieve their career goals and get recognition for it. Her new effort is aimed squarely at the English language because one word has a “negative stigma” attached to it. With the help of Beyonce, she launched a web site Monday at BanBossy.com, on which is proclaimed:

When a little boy asserts himself, he’s called a “leader.” Yet when a little girl does the same, she risks being branded “bossy.” Words like bossy send a message: don’t raise your hand or speak up.

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‘Girls’ Star Lena Dunham Dresses Like Eve, Mocks Bible on SNL

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Photo Credit: david_shankboneAs expected, Girls creator/star Lena Dunham got nude on Saturday Night Live this weekend, in one scene mocking the Genesis Eden story, where a partly blurred-out nude Dunham and leaf-covered co-star Taran Killam poked fun at the biblical narrative. Saturday’s episode earned SNL’s second lowest ratings of the year.

“Son of God. Noah,” says the narrator. “And now, another extraordinary Biblical film that tells the astonishing story of the Garden of Eden and the Garden of Life itself.” Dunham then appears naked. “Adam, Adam, a snake just talked to me. Is that normal?” Dunham says. “Before there were Girls,” the narrator says, “there was the first Girl.” Taran Killam appears as Adam, and Dunham says, “I just like want to know what we’re even doing here. Are we like man and wife?” When Killam responds that Eve was made from his rib, Dunham says, “Oh my God, that is like so sexist, I can’t believe you would even bring that up right now. Take a gender and women’s studies class!”

When God catches her after eating the apple, she says, “Can you please not apple shame me right now? I know I committed original sin, but at least it’s original! I think I deserve some credit for that, or at least a publishing deal!” God says she’s old enough to be on her own, to which Dunham says she doesn’t even have health insurance.

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A World-Famous Chemist Tells the Truth: There’s No Scientist Alive Today Who Understands Macroevolution

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Photo Credit: Uncommon Descent Professor James M. Tour is one of the ten most cited chemists in the world. He is famous for his work on nanocars (pictured above, courtesy of Wikipedia), nanoelectronics, graphene nanostructures, carbon nanovectors in medicine, and green carbon research for enhanced oil recovery and environmentally friendly oil and gas extraction. He is currently a Professor of Chemistry, Professor of Computer Science, and Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Rice University. He has authored or co-authored 489 scientific publications and his name is on 36 patents. Although he does not regard himself as an Intelligent Design theorist, Professor Tour, along with over 700 other scientists, took the courageous step back in 2001 of signing the Discovery Institute’s “A Scientific Dissent from Darwinism”, which read: “We are skeptical of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the complexity of life. Careful examination of the evidence for Darwinian theory should be encouraged.”

On Professor Tour’s Website, there’s a very revealing article on evolution and creation, in which Tour bluntly states that he does not understand how macroevolution could have happened, from a chemical standpoint (all bold emphases below are mine – VJT):

Although most scientists leave few stones unturned in their quest to discern mechanisms before wholeheartedly accepting them, when it comes to the often gross extrapolations between observations and conclusions on macroevolution, scientists, it seems to me, permit unhealthy leeway. When hearing such extrapolations in the academy, when will we cry out, “The emperor has no clothes!”?

…I simply do not understand, chemically, how macroevolution could have happened. Hence, am I not free to join the ranks of the skeptical and to sign such a statement without reprisals from those that disagree with me? … Does anyone understand the chemical details behind macroevolution? If so, I would like to sit with that person and be taught, so I invite them to meet with me.

In a more recent talk, entitled, Nanotech and Jesus Christ, given on 1 November 2012 at Georgia Tech, Professor Tour went further, and declared that no scientist that he has spoken to understands macroevolution – and that includes Nobel Prize winners!…

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MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow’s Show Calls Abortion Practitioners Heroes

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Photo Credit: LifeNewsAbortion practitioners across the country are responsible for nearly 57 million abortions. They kill unborn babies on a daily basis, kill and injure women in failed abortions, and leave women, men, and families dealing with devastating mental health and spiritual issues as a result.

While a majority of Americans oppose abortion and believe abortions ought to be illegal, MSNBC held a segment calling abortion practitioners heroes. The Maddow show story focused on the anger abortion advocates have over pro-life laws in Texas and other states resulting in closing abortion businesses because they can’t seem to follow the law.

As Texas Right to Life writes:

On Wednesday night, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow featured an exclusive segment about the current state of pro-life laws in Texas, following the implementation of HB2, the Texas abortion safety law that added additional safety measures for women visiting clinics. The piece concluded with the announcement that Whole Women’s Health, which owns and operates abortion clinics across the state, was closing two of its five centers, in McAllen and Beaumont, respectively.

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Obama Misspells Aretha Fanklin’s ‘Respect’ During Women of Soul Jam

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Photo Credit: Breitbart President Barack Obama made the kind of public flub Thursday night that would have dominated the news cycle had President George W. Bush said the very same thing.

Obama, taking part in the White House’s Women of Soul concert, announced music legend Aretha Franklin by misspelling the singer’s signature song.

Yes, RESPECT. Or, as Obama calls it, RSPECT.

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Obama Proposes Eliminating Funding for Abstinence Education in 2015 Budget

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Photo Credit: APPresident Barack Obama wants to eliminate funding for abstinence education funding in his 2015 budget, which he sent to Congress on Tuesday.

In the “Cuts, Consolidations, and Savings” portion of the budget, it shows that the $5 million funding to Health and Human Services (HHS) through its Title V Maternal and Child Health Program that was included in the 2014 budget is not part of Obama’s latest budget.

Supporters of “sexual risk avoidance” – or SRA abstinence education programs – expressed the need for such programs and the across-the aisle-approval of them by parents.

“By eliminating SRA (sexual risk avoidance) abstinence programs in his budget, the President has, once again chosen to ignore the wishes of parents and the approach that helps youth avoid all risk associated with teen sex,” Valerie Huber, president of the National Abstinence Education Association (NAEA), said in a statement on Wednesday.

“This is truly unfortunate, but not at all surprising,” Huber said. “President Obama has sought to cut or eliminate SRA abstinence programs each year of his presidency.

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Planned Parenthood: Religious Liberty/Hobby Lobby Suit is About ‘Taking Away Birth Control’

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Photo Credit: AP/Ron EdmondsIn a Feb. 27 commentary in the liberal Huffington Post, Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards claims that states’ efforts to protect the religious rights of citizens is really about “taking away birth control.”

Richards cited the Arizona legislation (SB 1062) recently vetoed by Republican Gov. Jan Brewer that would have allowed individuals to not provide products or services if their provision required them to violate their religious belief in marriage between one man and one woman.

“With the debate over the Arizona bill during the last few days, folks across the country have gotten a preview of this extreme agenda, and they don’t like what they see,” Richards wrote. “It’s clear that this isn’t about religious liberties.”

“It’s about corporations who want a license to discriminate against people by denying services, taking away birth control coverage, and blocking access to health care,” said Richards, who presides over the largest abortion provider in the United States.

Richards also linked the Arizona legislation to the Sebilius v. Hobby Lobby case, currently being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS). Hobby Lobby is suing the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) over an Obamacare regulation that requires individuals and business to carry health insurance that offers contraception, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs without co-payments.

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Let’s Move: 1.6M Paying Students Drop School Lunch — ‘Challenges With Palatability’

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Photo Credit: APDespite an increase in the number of students who receive free meals as a part of Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign, 1.6 million students have dropped out of the school lunch program, according to a Government Accountability Office Report (GAO), which noted that part of the decline was due to the palatability of the lunch offerings, and “plate waste” – students throwing away some of the food.

“All eight SFAs [school food authorities] we visited also noted that students expressed dislike for certain foods that were served to comply with the new requirements, such as whole grain-rich products and vegetables in the beans and peas (legumes) and red-orange sub-groups, and this may have affected participation,” said the GAO in its report, “Implementing Nutrition Changes Was Challenging and Clarification of Oversight Requirements Is Needed.”

“Further, some SFAs we visited noted that negative student reactions to lunches that complied with the new meat and grain portion size limits directly affected program participation in their districts,” said the GAO. The school food authorities noted that changes made to sandwiches led “to a middle and high school boycott of school lunch by students that lasted for 3 weeks and, at the same time, “participation in school lunch significantly declined in those schools.”

The report also said, “Nationwide, participation in the National School Lunch Program declined in recent years after having increased steadily for more than a decade. According to our analysis of USDA’s data, total student participation—the total number of students who ate school lunches—dropped from school years 2010-2011 through 2012-2013 for a cumulative decline of 1.2 million students (or 3.7 percent), with the majority of the decrease occurring during school year 2012-2013.”

The decrease in the total number of students eating school lunches during the last two school years was driven primarily by a decrease of 1.6 million students paying full price for meals, despite increases in the number of students eating school lunches who receive free meals,” said the report.

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