Daily Headlines | Tuesday March 8, 2022

Good Morning! 

It was the late Mother Teresa, founder of the Missionaries of Charity, who once said: 

“If you can’t feed a hundred people, feed just one.” 

We begin with a look at the escalating tragedy in eastern Europe: 

 

War in Ukraine Causing Burgeoning Humanitarian Crisis 

From The Daily Citizen: 

The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, begun by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, has led to an immediate and worsening humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and its surrounding countries. 

The invasion began the largest conventional military war in Europe since the end of World War II. 

The world is witnessing for the first time in decades, through media outlets and social media, the devastation and hell-like conditions that war brings. 

According to the Ukrainian emergency service, over 2,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed so far during the invasion. 

And more than 1.7 million Ukrainians have fled the country, crossing into Central Europe, the United Nation’s refugee agency said on Monday. Over one million of the refugees have fled into Poland. 

“This is a million human tragedies, a million people banished from their homes by the war,” the Polish border guard service tweeted over the weekend. 

 

2. Pope John Paul II’s Timeless Call to Stand Up to Putin & Soviet Aggression: “Be Not Afraid!” 

From The Daily Citizen: 

Karol Wojtyla, better known as Pope John Paul II, has been gone for almost 17 years – but his shrewd wisdom and memories of steadfast resolve against the evils of communism can still provide us with insight regarding the current war in Ukraine. 

Russian president Vladimir Putin was a member of the KGB when the newly elected pontiff made his celebrated return to his home country of Poland in June of 1979. The second-most populated of the Eastern Bloc countries controlled by the Soviet Union, the pope’s trip posed a difficult and high stakes dilemma for the communists.  

Arriving in Warsaw on June 3rd, the pope declared in his first homily: 

“Man cannot be fully understood without Christ. Or rather, man is incapable of understanding himself fully without Christ. He cannot understand who he is, nor what his true dignity is, nor what his vocation is, nor what his final end is. He cannot understand any of this without Christ.” 

 He continued: 

“Therefore, Christ cannot be kept out of the history of man in any part of the globe, at any longitude or latitude of geography. The exclusion of Christ from the history of man is an act against man. Without Christ it is impossible to understand the history of Poland, especially the history of the people who have passed or are passing through this land. The history of people. The history of the nation is above all the history of people. And the history of each person unfolds in Jesus Christ. In Him it becomes the history of Salvation.”  

Pope John Paul II wasn’t just decrying the evils of Vladimir Putin’s government but also reminding its people that God – not man – sits at the center of all things. Putin and his cronies may try and wear and peddle a veneer of the Christian faith, but make no mistake: communism, fascism and despotism are wholly incompatible with the freedoms found in Jesus Christ. 

 

Colorado Lawmakers Introduce the Most Radical Abortion Bill in the Country 

From The Daily Citizen: 

Last week the nation’s most radical abortion bill was introduced in the Colorado General Assembly, HB22-1279, the so-called “Reproductive Health Equity Act.” This bill would not only codify abortion under state law, but it would also invalidate existing limits on abortion and prohibit future laws restricting abortion.  

Shockingly, this abortion on demand bill would legalize abortion at all stages of pregnancy, right up to the moment before birth, and for any reason whatsoever.   

That’s right – if this measure became law, it would legalize discrimination in the womb. According to this bill, a preborn baby could legally be aborted because it was the wrong race, the wrong sex, or had a disability.   

Moreover, the bill declares that preborn babies have no rights under Colorado law. Indeed, it would ban the state from providing any rights to babies in the womb.  

As mentioned, the bill would invalidate all existing laws that restrict abortion and prohibit the creation of any new laws limiting abortion.  

 

4. After Blowback, Alexandria City Council Rescinds ‘Abortion Provider Appreciation Day’ Proposal 

From The Daily Citizen: 

The Alexandria City Council has rescinded a proposed resolution to celebrate abortionists and establish a citywide “Abortion Providers Appreciation Day” following blowback from the Christian faithful in the city. 

The city council had planned to vote on the proposed resolution on March 8 and would have designated March 10 as the “special” day. The resolution exhorted residents of Alexandria, Virginia to “celebrate the courage, compassion, and the high-quality care that abortion providers and clinic staff provide.” 

But after the proposal became public, intense publish outcry caused the city council to rescind the measure prior to voting on it. 

Bishop Burbidge of the Catholic Diocese of Arlington had blasted the proposed proclamation in a statement. 

“Violence of every kind must be condemned – and abortion is a direct, violent attack on human life,” Bishop Burbidge said. “Proposing a celebration of abortion and an ‘appreciation day’ for those who destroy lives defies comprehension.” 

 

Trans Activists Funded By Big Pharma Push Biased Research Promoting Medical Transitions For Children 

From the Daily Caller: 

Researchers are churning out biased studies promoting medical gender transitions for children, often supported by pharmaceutical companies and activist organizations, and the media frequently promotes the conclusions uncritically. 

A March 2021 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence comprehensive review of nine studies failed to find evidence that hormonal therapy and puberty blockers were helpful. The review pointed out common flaws in transgender treatment research, such as confounding variables and bias resulting from observational studies that lack control groups. 

Yet the media has widely publicized studies funded by pharmaceutical corporations and activist groups which claim to find that “gender-affirming” medical care, such as hormones that block children from going through puberty, is good for kids’ mental health. 

Stanford University published a Jan. 12 study on childhood hormone therapy funded by the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), which, according to a Stanford press release, is supported financially by pharmaceutical giants Arbor and Pfizer. Both companies produce hormonal medications used in gender transitions. 

 

Florida Democrats Chant ‘Gay!’ To Protest A Bill That Doesn’t Ban Anybody From Saying ‘Gay!’ 

From the Daily Wire: 

In a show of solidarity with voters who want elementary school educators to teach students about transgenderism and other progressive sex-related ideas without parental knowledge, Florida Democrats chanted “Gay! Gay! Gay!” on Monday throughout the state’s capitol building. 

The chant was in response to what critics are calling the “Don’t Say Gay Bill” being pushed by Florida Republicans. The Daily Wire reported last week, the title of that bill is officially known as the Parental Rights in Education bill, but the Left has argued it bans teachers and school kids from even mentioning the word “gay” in public schools all. 

On Monday, The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh — an LGBTQ best selling author — pointed out that assessment could not be further from the truth. 

On Friday, The Daily Wire reported that critics of the proposal claim it would harm LGBTQ students by preventing discussion on LGBT sex and gender topics, making them feel unwelcome, and possibly creating an environment of harm at home. 

 

7. Psaki Clashes with DeSantis Official over Recommendation against Covid Vaccines for Healthy Children 

From National Review: 

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Monday condemned Florida surgeon general Joseph Ladapo’s recommendation against healthy children receiving the Covid-19 vaccine. 

When a reporter asked Psaki whether the Biden administration agreed with that advisory, she replied: “Absolutely not. … We know the science, we know the data and what works and what the most effective steps are in protecting people of a range of ages from hospitalization and even death.” 

The leader of Florida’s health department announced the decision Monday at a roundtable organized by Governor Ron DeSantis. 

“The Florida Department of Health is going to be the first state to officially recommend against the COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children,” Ladapo said at the meeting. 

“[There’s] individual rights, individual choice, and truth on one side, and really sort of overarching powers, overarching government, abuse of powers, abuse of data, dishonesty and frankly, a lot of unethical behavior on the other side,” he added. 

 

8. How to Avoid Misinformation and Disinformation Online 

From the Gospel Coalition: 

God’s ninth commandment—do not bear false witness—is being obliterated by social media (Ex. 20:16). Where untruth takes root, social trust declines. Friends begin doubting friends because we increasingly agree, “I can’t tell what’s true anymore.” 

Jesus warned his followers, “I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matt. 10:16). In the era of the social internet, this means rejecting the temptation of cynicism while simultaneously growing wise to how falsehood spreads. Currently, two kinds of falsehood thrive on social media: misinformation and disinformation. Understanding both is the first step toward resistance. 

Misinformation comes in two forms: (1) unintentional falsehoods shared without malice and (2) falsehoods created by decontextualizing or deceptively reframing true events. 

 

3 lessons we can learn from Batman 

From Focus’ Paul Assay in the Christian Post: 

The Batman flapped into theatres over the past weekend with Robert Pattinson donning the cape and cowl. He’s the ninth guy to play the Dark Knight in a live-action movie (counting two really weird 1940s serials). Given Batman’s perennial popularity, he won’t be the last.  

But as beloved as Bats has been over the decades, he’s one of the most puzzling and, in some ways, problematic of superheroes. Why? Simple: He’s not technically super and, in some ways, he’s not that heroic. 

Most superheroes are aspirational in nature — good people doing good things. But is Batman a “good” person? He’s a violent vigilante, a one-man wrecking crew — and not an altogether stable one at that. As Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) said in “Batman Begins,” “Well, a guy who dresses up as a bat clearly has issues.” 

Pattinson’s Batman brings all that antihero vibe to the party in “The Batman” and underlines it. His Dark Knight is dark indeed. When one terrified bad guy asks him who he is, Batman hisses, “I am vengeance.” 

So is Batman really the hero we need? I’d say yes. In fact, here’s three reasons why Batman, for all his darkness and for all of his faults, is perhaps superherodom’s most inspirational hero. 

 

10.‘Who knows what will happen tomorrow’: Ukrainian couple marries at Kyiv checkpoint 

From USA Today: 

A Ukrainian couple were married near a checkpoint on the outskirts of Kyiv amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.   

Lesia Ivashchenko and Valerii Fylymonov, Ukrainian territorial defense members, tied the knot on Sunday. The bride carried flowers and wore a white veil.  

“We decided to get married because we live in challenging times, and you never know what’s going to happen to you tomorrow. That’s why it is better do it sooner than later,” Fylymonov, the groom, said, as translated in a video from The Guardian.  

The couple said they have been together for more than 20 years, but they were never officially married until this week.   

“We decided – who knows what will happen tomorrow – we should get married in front of the state, in front of God,” the bride said.