Good Morning!
Writing during the Revolutionary War, Thomas Paine reflected:
“I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue principles unto death.”
The halls of Congress would benefit from more men and women who might fit such a description:
Senate will vote on same-sex marriage bill in September, Schumer says
From the Washington Examiner:
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said the Senate would vote on legislation codifying the right to same-sex marriage into federal law next month, capping off weeks of speculation and signaling Democrats are optimistic the bill will have enough GOP support to avert a filibuster.
Schumer’s remarks to reporters came on Sunday afternoon after the upper chamber passed Democrats’ sweeping healthcare, tax, and climate bill following a marathon 27-hour “vote-a-rama.” While he has said that he hoped to bring the bill, known as the Respect for Marriage Act, up for a vote, he declined to commit to holding one, and some members of Senate Democratic leadership expressed skepticism that the chamber would have enough time on its legislative calendar to take up the bill. Schumer’s most recent comments pledging a September vote mark the first time he’s set a specific timeline for the Senate to consider the legislation.
Democrats introduced the Respect for Marriage Act last month in response to their concerns that the Supreme Court could revisit the right to same-sex marriage in light of the high court’s June decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and return the ability to restrict abortion to the states. The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the bill just one day after it was introduced, with 47 Republicans — including members of House GOP leadership — joining all Democrats in voting for the bill.
All 50 Senate Democrats are expected to back the Respect for Marriage Act in a floor vote, but Schumer needs the support of at least 10 Republican senators in order to stave off a filibuster in the evenly divided chamber. While many observers were initially skeptical it would be able to win enough GOP support to cross the critical 60-vote threshold, in the days and weeks following the bill’s July 19 House passage, Republican openness to the legislation materialized from unexpected corners.
Majority-Republican City Council Slashes ‘Sanctuary For Life’ Resolution After Backlash
From the Daily Wire:
The San Clemente, California, city council called a special meeting Saturday and voted 3-1 to remove a resolution that would have made the city a “sanctuary for life,” following opposition from council members and the community.
The three-hour special meeting Saturday increased tensions between dozens of San Clemente residents and the city council, resulting in a vote to slash the pro-life resolution from the agenda of an upcoming meeting, according to the Los Angeles Times. All but one of the city’s five council members are Republicans.
Councilman Steve Knoblock wrote and proposed the resolution that recognized life beginning at conception and stood “firmly against” Planned Parenthood and other abortion clinics having a presence in the city of nearly 65,000 people. The resolution met immediate backlash from abortion rights supporters in the city and even from the Republican mayor, Gene James, who initially seconded the motion to draft the resolution.
“I’m pro-life, I won’t apologize for that, I can’t apologize for that,” James said, according to the Voice of OC.
CA Judge Strikes Down San Francisco Law Allowing Noncitizens to Vote in School Board Elections
From Townhall:
San Francisco’s experimentation with allowing noncitizens to vote in school board elections is over.
Finding that the practice violates the state constitution, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard Ulmer recently struck down the city ordinance that green-lit the practice.
In 2016, San Francisco voters approved a charter amendment allowing certain noncitizens to vote in school board elections. The Charter amendment also gave the County Board of Supervisors authority to extend the noncitizen voting authorization beyond 2022. On November 2, 2021, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors extended indefinitely the ordinance allowing noncitizens to vote beyond 2022.
In March 2022, California attorney James Lacy filed a lawsuit against the city and county of San Francisco over this law arguing that San Francisco residents have a clear interest in ensuring their school board elections follow state law, especially because state taxpayers partially fund school districts.
The media begins to notice that we’re running out of cops
From Hot Air:
Let’s say there’s a violent intruder at your door or someone is breaking into your house in the middle of the night. Who ya gonna call? Assuming that you don’t have the number for the Ghostbusters, you’ll probably dial 911. But in a number of cities, the odds that anyone will be available to respond quickly enough to save you have been dropping.
The problem has grown serious enough that even the Associated Press has been forced to cover the story. They begin with an interview with George Spaulding of Portland, Oregon. Five years ago, his son Brian was shot to death in his apartment. Though George checks in with the detective assigned to the case frequently, the police say they still have no leads.
But even George admits that the police are simply overwhelmed and they probably just don’t have the manpower to assign anyone to really work the case full time. And it’s not just Portland where this is happening. Response times to emergency calls are rising and the number of criminal cases being closed are falling in many cities.
Judge Blocks Indiana’s ‘Save Women’s Sports’ Act so Boy Can Play on Girls Softball Team
From the Daily Citizen:
Saying “it’s not even a close call,” a federal judge in Indiana has issued an injunction blocking Indiana’s new law protecting girls and women’s sports so that a 10-year-old boy can play on his school’s girls softball team.
U.S. District Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson, a President Obama appointee, ruled that the federal law known as Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in education, applies to males who believe they are females. In support, she cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s Bostock decision from 2020, a case dealing with Title VII, the federal employment law concerning sex discrimination.
Title IX, passed by Congress in 1972, was designed to correct the imbalance between the opportunities available for women as compared to men in education because of sex discrimination, especially in the field of athletics. Because of Title IX, women’s sports began receiving equal funding, and opportunities for women increased.
The state of Indiana defended its law by arguing that both Title IX and the Indiana statute simply require schools to provide equal opportunities for girls to compete against their own biological sex.
Teaching Children a Lost Ethic:
From Desiring God:
From my years of teaching and mothering, there are a handful of lessons and principles I would want to make sure our children learn. Many of these may take years to instill in them!
Teach them values as you teach them to work, such as honesty, purity, and humility (to name a few).
They need to take responsibility for their space and their stuff; tidiness and organization make life a lot less stressful.
Nurture perseverance so that they can approach a task involving multiple steps confidently, not getting overwhelmed.
Provide them with boring and repetitive tasks, because that’s just part of life.
Set goals. Picture the end product — a clean room, a repaired toaster, or a delicious meal.
Give them a variety of experiences in different subjects — mechanics, science, gardening, art — so they can learn life skills and find their talents. Teach them to love learning.
Instill confidence to overcome obstacles. Teach them that failure can be used for good when they learn from their mistakes. Encourage them by saying, “You can do this!” Celebrate successes.
Nurture excitement to start a new project or build something. Then make sure they finish.
Pay them for some of their work (except for the work expected of family). Then teach them how to tithe, save, and spend their money, so they understand, “No effort equals no pay. Extra effort equals extra pay.”
Provide the joy of service — of giving to others with no expectation of a reward, of helping someone in need.
7. 20 Quotes on Staying Christian in College
From the Gospel Coalition:
These quotes stood out as I read through Michael J. Kruger’s book, Surviving Religion 101: Letters to a Christian Student on Keeping the Faith in College (Crossway, 2021). This is a wonderful resource for high school or college students preparing to live for Christ in a potentially hostile environment.
Don’t confuse not having an answer with there not being an answer. The two are not the same. Even if you don’t have answers to difficult questions, that does not mean there are none. . . . Here’s the big point: you’re not going to be able to answer every objection to Christianity that you hear. And that’s okay. It’s not a reason to doubt your faith. (31, 32)
Apart from the Spirit’s help, people are hardwired to reject Christianity. . . . Thus, the widespread rejection of Christianity by intellectual elites has nothing to do with whether Christianity is true. . . . Truth is not determined by majority vote. (45, 46, 49)
Is Jesus arrogant to claim that he is the only way to God? Well, that depends on [his] identity. He didn’t claim to be a mere human or simply a prophet, but rather the divine Son of God. And as such, he would certainly have the authority to tell us about how one goes to heaven. (55)
Relativism only works if the statement “There is no objective truth” is objectively true. Thus, relativism only works if it exempts itself from its own rules. . . . In order for relativists to condemn others for making absolute truth claims, they must make their own absolute truth claims (namely, that there are no absolute truths). Thus, what seemed to be a humble position ends up being as dogmatic and absolutist as the positions it condemns. (59)
Stand your ground. And always do so with kindness. It’s the combination of these two things that is so powerful. Some Christians stand their ground but are unkind to those who disagree. Other Christians are kind to those who disagree but abandon their belief that Christ is the only way. You are called to do both—stand your ground on the uniqueness of Christ and show kindness. The two are not mutually exclusive but belong together. (62)
Be the Favorite Aunt or Uncle You Were Destined to Become
From the Wall Street Journal:
Caring aunts and uncles play vital roles in a family. They can be valuable mentors to their nieces and nephews, providing them with different perspectives and experiences. They can help them understand their parents and their family better. And because they typically offer nonjudgmental support, they are often the adults whom children and young people turn to when they need someone trusted to confide in other than a parent.
Yet for the past few years, many people haven’t seen their nieces and nephews as much as they would like. (Honestly, can you ever really see a beloved niece or nephew enough?)
As families continue to reconnect, I asked readers for advice on how to be a fantastic aunt or uncle.
Many said they try to spend as much time as possible with their niece or nephew, ideally one-on-one. Others recommend focusing on the child’s interests, such as music, sports or hobbies.
Several talked of the importance of listening, without judgment. Some said they only give advice when asked. And almost everyone said they see one of their roles as aunt or uncle to be “the fun one.”
9. What the Christian Army Bugler Who Flubbed “Taps” at JFK’s Funeral Can Teach Us About Dealing With Our Mistakes
From the Daily Citizen:
When his eleven-year-old daughter called up the stairs inside their Virginia home on the afternoon of November 22, 1963, Corporal Keith C. Clark, the Principal Bugler with the United States Army Band, was in the midst of one of his favorite hobbies. Along with a friend, he was sorting and organizing his growing collection of hymn books and other church music documents.
Sandy’s news understandably shocked her 36-year-old father: President John F. Kennedy had been shot and killed in Dallas. Camelot was over.
As the service progressed and moved towards Clark’s moment, his mind wandered to 1 Corinthians 15:51-52: “We shall all be changed, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
The 24-note piece would conclude the heartbreaking service. All eyes and cameras were on Clark as he began to play. But then came the sixth note. He fumbled. Flubbed. Missed. Broken. However you want to describe it. But he kept going and concluded the playing of “Taps” flawlessly.
Many in the crowd and those watching on television thought the mistake was deliberate – a poignant nod to emotion and anguish of the moment.
Corporal Clark would receive hundreds of letters from people sympathizing with him. A nine-year-old wrote:
“Anybody is bound to make a tiny mistake in front of millions upon millions of people.”
Another wrote: “Hold your head high! In your one sad note, you told the world of our feelings.”
As it would turn out, buglers around the country reported making the same mistake in the weeks and months to come. Such was the power of suggestion.
How often do we mull over long ago errors, often allowing our past mistakes to shade and shape our present and future? Clark didn’t even realize he had made the error – and he refused to allow the mishap to consume or define his career. He would retire with honor from the Army three years later and go o to become a music professor at Houghton College in Houghton, New York. He retired in 1980.
We may think our mistakes humiliate us, when, in fact, they can humble and humanize. Nobody is perfect. Nothing is perfect.
His place of burial?
Arlington National Cemetery, of course.
10. Auburn Basketball Team Gets Baptized in Jordan River, Taking Time to ‘Walk Where Jesus Walked’
From CBN:
Members of the Auburn University basketball team embraced the literal paths taken by Jesus Christ while visiting the holy land recently, even taking the remarkable step of getting baptized in the Jordan River.
The team “shared a special moment with each other” when they were baptized in the Jordan this week in Israel, the team tweeted.
The post Daily Headlines | Wednesday August 10, 2022 appeared first on Daily Citizen.
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