Daily Headlines | Monday March 21, 2022

Good Morning! 

Womanhood is a biological fact – but that hasn’t stopped the radical left from suggesting it isn’t. 

“It is an affront to treat falsehood with complaisance,” wrote Thomas Paine.  

The Bible is the ultimate guide for all things, especially reality: “Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another,” wrote Paul (Ephesians 4:25). 

We begin by reporting reality:  

 

Celebrate the Real NCAA Women’s 500-Freestyle Swimming Champions 

From The Daily Citizen: 

Congratulations to Emma Weyant, who touched in with a time of 4:34.99 in the NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming 500-yard freestyle championship race. The event took place on the second day of the championships, March 17, 2022, and Weyant swam a career best, shaving more than 2 seconds off her time. 

Weyant, a freshman from the University of Virginia, was a 2020 Olympic silver medalist in the women’s 400-meter individual medley (IM – butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle). She goes into the NCAA 400-yard IM finals on Friday with the second-best qualifying time, behind teammate Alex Walsh. 

She was followed by Erica Sullivan, another freshman, from the University of Texas, who touched the wall with a time of 4:35.92. Sullivan was also a 2020 Olympian, earning a silver medal in the 1,500-meter freestyle. She was the Big 12’s Championship Newcomer of the Meet in this year’s women’s swimming and diving. 

Right behind Weyant and Sullivan was Brooke Ford, a fifth-year senior from Stanford. The four-time national champion, who took a silver medal at the 2020 Olympics in the 800-meter freestyle relay, touched in at 4:36.19. 

We applaud each of them. 

 

 

McConnell Reveals Stance On Supporting Biden Supreme Court Nominee 

From the Daily Wire: 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) declined to say on Sunday whether or not he would be willing to support President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson, after previously having voted against her. 

“You know, we had a very good conversation in my office and I asked her, you know, typically the Supreme Court nominees of both parties have never answered the questions,” McConnell told CBS News. “What they typically say is that something that might come before me, and I don’t want to prejudge how I might actually vote, but I asked her to defend the court. Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Justice Breyer both publicly opposed court packing, that is trying to increase the number of court members in order to get an outcome you like. That would have been an easy thing for her to do, to defend the integrity of the court. She wouldn’t do that. So, in the meantime, the committee will ask her all the tough questions. I haven’t made a final decision as to how I’m going to vote.” 

“I’m going to listen to the evidence. I’m going to listen to the hearings. And by the way, she’ll be treated much better than Democrats typically treated Republican nominees like Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh. It will be a respectful, deep-dive into her record, which I think is entirely appropriate for a lifetime appointment,” McConnell continued. “I’m willing to listen to the testimony. That’s why we have hearings.”

 

SCOTUS RELATED: 

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas Hospitalized 

From the Washington Examiner: 

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has been hospitalized and diagnosed with an infection, the court revealed Sunday. 

Thomas, who is 73-years-old, was admitted to Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C., on Friday evening after experiencing “flu-like symptoms,” Supreme Court spokeswoman Patricia McCabe said in a statement, adding, “He underwent tests, was diagnosed with an infection, and is being treated with intravenous antibiotics.” McCabe said Sunday that the hospitalization was not related to COVID-19.  

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has been hospitalized and diagnosed with an infection, the court revealed Sunday. 

Thomas, who is 73-years-old, was admitted to Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C., on Friday evening after experiencing “flu-like symptoms,” Supreme Court spokeswoman Patricia McCabe said in a statement, adding, “He underwent tests, was diagnosed with an infection, and is being treated with intravenous antibiotics.” McCabe said Sunday that the hospitalization was not related to COVID-19.  

 

Colorado Legislature Creating New Way for People to Become Parents While Denying Best Interests of Children 

From The Daily Citizen: 

It is no secret how people become parents. It’s as simple and miraculous as the birds and the bees. Basic nature. 

But a new law being considered in the Colorado General Assembly will radically redefine how parentage is defined and assigned for children going forward. When we consider that a child’s mother and father are the most foundational and consequential relationships in human experience, the relationships from which all other things in life originally flow, we should pay very close attention when a group of politicians tries to redefine how parentage is established for ideological purposes. 

This is precisely what is taking place in Colorado with HB22-1153 which is deceptively entitled the “Family Affirmation Act” because it is trying to hide what it really does. It should be called the “Parentage Redefinition Act.” 

It has already passed the Centennial State’s House by a vote of 53-11, moving now to their Senate chamber. As one important children rights group, Them Before Us, explains, “The Family Affirmation Act treats children as products which can be designed, purchased, and delivered to adults who can afford them. This impacts a child’s self-image and familial relationships.” 

 

California Legislators Introduce Abortion Tourism Bill 

From PJ Media: 

Under a new law proposed by California legislators, state funds could be spent to help low-income California residents obtain abortions. But, perhaps more significantly, the fund would be available to help out-of-state residents obtain abortions as well. 

In other words, California is looking to boost its abortion tourism, because, well, it’s California, and you’d expect nothing less of the far-left state. 

On Thursday, Sens. Nancy Skinner and Anna Caballero introduced Senate Bill 1142, which would establish a fund (composed of state and private money) for the sole purpose of providing grant money to nonprofits that assist low-income pregnant women with access to abortion services. 

The state portion of the fund would be established by the California legislature. 

 

5. Hey Citigroup – Why Do You Want to Kill Future Customers? 

From The Daily Citizen: 

How do you explain this recent letter from Citigroup to its shareholders? 

In response to changes in reproductive healthcare laws in certain states in the U.S., beginning in 2022 we provide travel benefits to facilitate access to adequate resources. 

“Adequate resources” – cold words to describe dark places. In other words, we’re going to pay for your trip to an abortion clinic – where you can then end the life of a baby who would have otherwise grown into an adult and potentially become one of our valued customers one day. 

Corporations commit major dollars to recruiting and cultivating customers. Even setting aside the foolish decision to embrace the moral evil of abortion itself, why would a company deliberately sabotage those cultivation efforts? They’re obviously making a calculated gamble. They’re deciding the short-term props they receive from abortion activists somehow outweighs future corporate gains. 

But like the illogic of abortion itself, Citgroup’s radical grandstanding even contradicts its own articulated mission.  

On its website, the financial behemoth proudly proclaims it has two centuries worth of experience helping its clients “meet the world’s toughest challenges” by assisting them in embracing “its greatest opportunities.” 

An undesired pregnancy may, indeed, represent a tough challenge – but killing a baby is no way to meet it. In fact, if Citibank truly wants to help its customers embrace its “greatest opportunities” (which is the essence of a new life) they would help provide its pregnant clients with practical assistance to carry their new baby to term.  

 

Healthy Children Don’t Need Covid Vaccines 

From the Wall Street Journal: 

The Sunshine State is bucking the public-health consensus again. “The Florida Department of Health is going to be the first state to officially recommend against the Covid-19 vaccines for healthy children,” Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced March 7. 

Cue the outrage. The American Academy of Pediatrics called the recommendation “irresponsible.” The Infectious Diseases Society of America accused Dr. Ladapo of putting “politics over the health and safety of children.” White House press secretary Jen Psaki jabbed: “It’s deeply disturbing that there are politicians peddling conspiracy theories out there and casting doubt on vaccinations.” 

Dr. Ladapo is doing no such thing. He is merely acknowledging the abundant scientific evidence that Covid-19 poses a negligible risk to healthy children, which makes it impossible to know if the benefit of vaccination outweighs the risk. 

Start with the exceedingly low likelihood of severe illness or death. A recent study in the Lancet estimated the infection fatality rate for those under 18 at between 0.0023% and 0.0085%—meaning 2.3 to 8.5 of every 100,000 children who get infected will die. Rates are lowest among those 5 to 11. 

The public-health consensus has been wrong time and again during the pandemic. When it comes to vaccinating children, especially the youngest, Dr. Ladapo is right. 

 

Same-sex kiss restored to Pixar’s ‘Lightyear’ after employees slam Disney 

From the NY Post: 

A same-sex kiss scene was reportedly restored to Pixar’s upcoming feature film “Lightyear” – a reversal that came days after top Disney brass faced intense criticism from some of the studio’s employees over their response to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill. 

The abrupt change followed the circulation of a March 9 letter signed by “LGBTQIA+ employees of Pixar and their allies,” who accused Disney executives of censoring moments of “overtly gay affection” in their movies. 

Set for release this summer, the upcoming “Toy Story” spinoff features a relationship between two female characters, one of whom is voiced by actress Uzo Aduba. The kiss between the two characters was initially cut from the film – only to be re-added last week after Pixar employees accused Disney of censorship 

A source close to the film’s production informed Variety of the change. Disney representatives declined the outlet’s request for comment. 

 

8. 3 Approaches for Evangelism in a Remote Workplace 

From the Gospel Coalition: 

How should we as Christ-followers be thinking about this trend toward remote work? Let me suggest three responses. 

1. Sacrifice your right to work-from-home. 

If you have a choice in where you work, the gospel may compel you to sacrifice your freedom to do it where you want. You may choose to return to the office so that you can be more intentional about building relationships with unbelievers in person. 

2. Think strategically about how to build relationships virtually. 

If you decide remote work is what’s best for you or your team, spend some time thinking about how to build relationships in a virtual environment.  

3. Expand your view of your personal mission field. 

Finally, consider whether it’s time to expand your view of your personal mission field to include not just your coworkers, but also your physical neighbors.  

 

‘Brinkman Adventures’ Audio Drama Teaches Children About Miraculous Stories of Evangelism 

From The Daily Citizen: 

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus exhorts his disciples to pray for the Lord to send more Christians to spread the message of Jesus Christ. 

“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:37-38). 

But how can parents encourage their children to be mission-focused, and mindful about the billions of people worldwide who have yet to hear about Jesus Christ? 

Brinkman Adventures is here to help. 

Brinkman Adventures is a captivating audio drama series that creatively tells “powerful stories from the lives of real people.” 

 

10. Denzel Washington Credits ‘Grace of God’ for His Talents, Success 

From CBN: 

When asked how he was able to play so many different roles, Washington recalled a moment when his mentor stressed the importance of strengthening his skills. 

“One of the lessons I learned was taught by my mentor at the boy’s club, now the boy’s and girl’s club, Billy Thomas,” Washington said. “I was running track and a new guy joined the team. Billy could see I was out of character because this guy was faster than me. He said, ‘Yeah Denzel, he’s faster than you but he doesn’t have the fundamentals.’ He said, ‘Your natural ability will only take you so far.’”  

He continued, “So when I got to the place, by the grace of God, I realized I was given this ability to act and direct but I remembered my natural ability would only take me so far. I had to study more, I had to get deeper … I had to learn more. That’s what I did and it paid off and it’s paying off now.”  

The longtime actor was asked to share an important lesson in Hollywood that everyone should know. 

“One of the most important lessons in life that you should know is to remember to have an attitude of gratitude, of humility, understand where the gift comes from,” Washington declared. “It’s not mine … it’s been given to me by the grace of God.”