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Ouch: ESPN’s Decision to Give ‘Caitlyn’ Jenner the Courage Award Just Backfired Big Time

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Woman Involved in Bruce Jenner’s Car Crash Decries ESPY Award

By Des Bieler. Caitlyn Jenner made news Wednesday night when she took the stage at the ESPYs to receive the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. Some found her words powerful and moving while some questioned why she was there in the first place.

Count Jessica Steindorff among those who thought that the award should have gone to someone else. She was among those involved, as was Jenner, in a February traffic accident in Malibu, Calif., that claimed a woman’s life.

Steindorff is suing Jenner over the incident, as are the stepchildren of the woman, Kim Howe, who died. Steindorff had this to say to Entertainment Tonight about the former Olympic gold medalist and “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” star receiving the award:

“I find it difficult to understand how the culture we live in can honor a person who is responsible for taking a life and injuring several others with both an award and a reality show,” Steindorff told ET. “For an individual who is such a positive role model in many aspects of her life, Caitlyn has failed to do the right thing and take responsibility for her actions.”

“I would hope that someone who seems to greatly value the importance of human existence would be more sensitive to the fact that she ended another person’s life. Sadly we are living in a tabloid society,” she added.

(Read more from “Woman Involved in Bruce Jenner’s Car Crash Decries ESPY Award” HERE)

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The ESPY Bruce Jenner Courage Award Spectacle

By Norvell Rose. It was indeed a spectacle. But the fallout from Wednesday night’s ESPY Award presented to Caitlyn Jenner — the transgendered woman formerly known as Bruce — is certainly not what a cable net that relies on its fans for success wants to see. The homepage homage to Caitlyn’s “courage” has been blasted with sharply negative comments on the ESPN website.

Western Journalism published a pre-show piece on the Arthur Ashe Courage Award given to Jenner — that post was entitled “Receiving The ‘Courage’ Award From ESPN Could Be The Worst Thing To Happen To Caitlyn Jenner.” Ironically, putting the used-to-be-a-man cultural celebrity in the center-stage spotlight during the nationally televised ABC show last night may have been pretty bad for ESPN as well…if posted reaction is any indicator.

Among the many news outlets gushing with morning-after praise about the high-profile award and Jenner’s long acceptance speech is The Washington Post. The paper noted that Jenner’s moment (actually many moments) in the spotlight was among the “Best of the 2015 ESPYs.”

Then, there are comments such as the following about Jenner’s tearful celebration of self and emotional plea for acceptance of other transgendered people:

“…to give an award like the Arthur Ashe award for Courage to a guy that just feels he’s a woman or whatever the case may be is an absolute travesty and a total misuse and black mark for that award.” (Read more from “Ouch: ESPN’s Decision to Give ‘Caitlyn’ Jenner the Courage Award Just Backfired Big Time” HERE)
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Peter Berg, Friday Night Lights TV Series Producer, Shares “Hateful” Meme about Bruce Jenner

According to the Examiner, producer Peter Berg shared on his Instagram account a “hateful meme” about “Caitlyn” Jenner by comparing him to a true American hero, double-amputee Colonel Gregory Gadson. (Col. Gadson is a West Point classmate of Restoring Liberty Publisher Joe Miller) Here’s the image shared by Berg:

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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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MADNESS: 15-Year-Olds to Get State-Subsidized Sex-Change Operations WITHOUT PARENTAL NOTIFICATION

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The list of things 15-year-olds are not legally allowed to do in this state is long: Drive, smoke, donate blood, get a tattoo — even go to a tanning bed.

But, under a first-in-the-nation policy quietly enacted in January that many parents are only now finding out about, 15-year-olds are now allowed to get a sex-change operation. Many residents are stunned to learn they can do it without parental notification — and the state will even pay for it through its Medicaid program, the Oregon Health Plan.

“It is trespassing on the hearts, the minds, the bodies of our children,” said Lori Porter of Parents’ Rights in Education. “They’re our children. And for a decision, a life-altering decision like that to be done unbeknownst to a parent or guardian, it’s mindboggling.”

In a statement, Oregon Health Authority spokeswoman Susan Wickstrom explained it this way: “Age of medical consent varies by state. Oregon law — which applies to both Medicaid and non-Medicaid Oregonians — states that the age of medical consent is 15” . . .

Members are appointed by the governor and paid by the state of Oregon. With no public debate, 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. (Read more from “This State Is Allowing 15-Year-Olds to Get State-Subsidized Sex-Change Operations” HERE)

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Heaven Help This Poor Child: Supposed Cutting-Edge Parents Let 3-Year-Old Son Decide He’s a Girl [+video]

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By Tom Tillison. Being transgender is hip in liberal circles today, yet another class of victimization to corral Democratic voters, but some parents appear a little too eager to see their children enter into the stage of perpetual confusion.

So eager that they encourage the transition from one gender to another as early as pre-school.

In a recent interview with NPR, Mary Carter, from Oakland, Ca., talked about “the day” her 3-and-a-half-year-old son, Jack, decided he wanted to be a girl.

“Jackie just looked really, really sad, sadder than a 3-and-a-half-year-old should look,” Carter told NPR. “This weight that looked like it weighed more than she did, something she had to say and I didn’t know what that was” . . .

“So I asked. I said, ‘Jackie, are you sad that you’re not going to school today?’ And Jackie was really quiet and put her head down and said ‘No, I’m sad because I’m a boy.’” (Read more from “‘Heaven Help This Poor Child’: Cutting-Edge Parents Let 3-Year-Old Son Decide He’s a Girl” HERE)

(Listen to a man who used to be “transgendered” hammer parents’ criminality for helping children choose their sex)

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Canada Court Rules Right to Gay Sex Trumps Religious Liberty

By Blake Neff. A court in Canada has upheld the denial of accreditation to a Christian law school, holding the private school’s prohibition of homosexual behavior is sufficiently discriminatory that its degrees can be invalidated for that reason alone.

Trinity Western University is a 4,000-student, evangelical Protestant college in the Vancouver suburb of Langley. It has been seeking to open a law school, but has struggled to obtain accreditation in several provinces. This difficulty is not based on the school’s academics, but rather is based on outside objections to the covenant the school makes all students and professors sign. The covenant, among other things, forbids all sex other than that within heterosexual marriage, a rule opponents say discriminates against both gays and those who do not believe in marriage.

Based on the rule, the Law Society of Upper Canada, which governs bar admission in Ontario, refused to accredit the school, meaning graduates would not be allowed to practice law in the province. Trinity sued, leading to Thursday’s decision.

In its ruling, the Ontario Superior Court found that the denial of accreditation did violate Trinity’s freedom of religion, but that this violation was acceptable because of the greater good of protecting equality. Trinity tried to argue that its covenant was non-discriminatory, because it only governed behavior rather than beliefs or innate traits, but the court said that explanation wouldn’t fly.

“Individuals who may not believe in marriage, or LGBTQ persons, may attend (Trinity) but they must first sign the community covenant and thus, in essence, disavow not only their beliefs but, in the case of LGBTQ individuals, their very identity,” the court said. “To assert that that result is not, at its core, discriminatory is to turn a blind eye to the true impact and effect of the community covenant.” (Read more from this story HERE)

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Legislation Introduced to Make Bathrooms Gender Neutral in NYC

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Aiming to curb gender bias and harassment in New York City, officials are readying a plan that would require businesses to convert one-person restrooms into gender-neutral facilities.

Legislation is being introduced that would require publicly available, single-occupancy restrooms in both public and private buildings to be designated as gender-neutral . . .

“This is a very important issue,” said New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, whose office is releasing a report Friday recommending the changes. “It’s time to help individuals who identify as transgender to use the bathroom without fear of consequence.”

Eoghann Renfroe, the manager of transgender education and advocacy at the Empire State Pride Agenda, said Friday that Stringer’s proposal was needed in New York and was a common-sense approach to tackling one avenue of harassment.

“Being transgender, it’s not about the bathrooms. It’s that other people try to make it that way,” said Renfroe, a transgender man. “This step is simply just a way to make things more equal for everybody, to stop transgender people on a basis that doesn’t really exist.” (Read more from “Legislation Introduced to Make Single-Person Bathrooms Gender Neutral in NYC” HERE)

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Female Christian Radio Host Offers the Perfect Rebuttal to the Transgender Party Line

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LaVern Vivio, a Christian radio host based in Nashville, has offered a compelling personal tale about her own struggle with gender identity, and the insights she offers are at once humanizing and terrifying . . .

“I was having trouble finding comfort in what God made me to be,” she continues. “But that was part of the journey He had for me. It’s a journey I am thankful was accompanied by parents, peers and mentors (who) taught me God does not make mistakes.”

She then offers a litany of scenarios in which vulnerable adolescents and young adults such as she once was could be be shunted down a path that ends at being convinced transgenderism is the answer to their struggles.

“What if I had been raised that the choices for me sexually were vast and practically limitless?” she asks. “What if, in my adolescence, my deep loneliness, a girl had kissed me and I liked it?” . . .

“My concern is for what we are doing to ourselves as we seek to continue down a road that tries to recreate our lives into what we want them to be rather than what God created us to be. The road we are paving for our children is so confusing and hard and it doesn’t have to be.” (Read more from “Female Christian Radio Host Offers the Perfect Rebuttal to the Transgender Party Line” HERE)

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Transgender? That’s so Yesterday: Now, Meet the Transabled

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Ideas have consequences. We used to understand this.

Examples of the truth of this are everywhere. Once we accepted the premise that the pre-born child in the womb is of no value, then we saw wide-spread slaughter, regardless of whether those legislating this premise intended abortion to be “safe, legal, and rare.”

Once we accepted the premise that sex is not intended to be both unitive and procreative in its purpose, then, as one writer dryly put it, society accepted that “any orifice will do” . . .

The National Post ran a feature on “transabled” people yesterday, beginning their story with a shocking account of a man who intentionally cut his right arm off. “One-Hand Jason,” as he calls himself, is apparently not the only one. From the Post:

“We define transability as the desire or the need for a person identified as able-bodied by other people to transform his or her body to obtain a physical impairment,” says Alexandre Baril, a Quebec born academic who will present on “transability” at this week’s Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities at the University of Ottawa…

(Read more from “Transgender? That’s so Yesterday: Now, Meet the Transabled” HERE)

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Feds Now Trying to Force Employers Nationwide to Allow Transgender People to Use Opposite-Sex Bathrooms [+video]

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The federal government is strongly urging employers to give transgender employees access to bathrooms that correspond to their gender identity, marking a new policy front in the fast-moving campaign for transgender equality.

“… It is essential for employees to be able to work in a manner consistent with how they live the rest of their daily lives, based on their gender identity,” the Occupational Safety and Health Administration wrote in a four-page Guide to Restroom Access for Transgender Workers posted last week on the agency’s Web site.

[Listen to this interview with an ex-transgender man who went through surgery and has strong views on the transgender debate]

The guide is explicit that restroom access for transgender workers is both a civil rights issue and a health and safety one.

“Restricting employees to using only restrooms that are not consistent with their gender identity, or segregating them from other workers by requiring them to use gender-neutral or other specific restrooms, singles those employees out and may make them fear for their physical safety,” OSHA, an arm of the Labor Department wrote, calling its guidance “Best Practices” for employers throughout the country.

In some workplaces, “questions can arise… about which facilities certain employees can use,” OSHA said, then explained that someone’s “internal gender identity” may be different from the sex they were assigned at birth. “A person who identifies as a man should be permitted to use men’s bathrooms, and a person who identifies as a woman should be permitted to use women’s restrooms.” (Read more from “Feds: Transgender People Should Use Bathroom of Gender They Identify As” HERE)

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Spike TV to Cut Clint Eastwood’s Caitlyn Jenner Joke From Guys’ Choice Awards Telecast

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By Alex Stedman. It looks like Spike TV didn’t find Clint Eastwood’s joke about Bruce Jenner during the Guys’ Choice Awards taping on Saturday very funny . . .

During the taping, while presenting “San Andreas” star Dwayne Johnson with a special award, Eastwood compared Johnson to other athletes-turned-actors like “Jim Brown and Caitlyn Somebody.”

Bruce Jenner made his debut as a ‘woman’ on the cover of Vanity Fair last week. The gold-medal Olympian’s transition from male to female will also be featured in an upcoming E! docu-series, “I Am Cait.”

The situation isn’t too different than a controversy that involved the Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber in March. Several jokes about the late Paul Walker were made during the taping while Walker’s “Furious 7″ co-star Ludacris was on the stage, and Comedy Central cut them out of the official broadcast that aired in late March. (Read more from “Spike to Cut Clint Eastwood’s Caitlyn Jenner Joke From Guys’ Choice Awards Telecast” HERE)

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More on Eastwood’s Jenner Joke at Guys’ Choice Awards

By Fox News. Spike TV will cut out a joke Clint Eastwood cracked about Caitlyn Jenner at an award show on the network over the weekend, a rep for the network told USA Today.

The “American Sniper” director reportedly made the joke when introducing Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson at the 2015 Guys’ Choice Awards Saturday night. He compared Johnson to former athletes who turn to acting like “Jim Brown and Caitlyn Somebody…” (Read more from this story HERE)

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