The 3 - April 30, 2017

In this week's edition of The 3, highlighting three stories of relevance to the Christian community, I point to a new report on religious freedom issued by a commission affiliated with the State Department.  Also, an assortment of pro-life groups placed thousands of socks on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol building to call attention to the huge numbers of children who lost their lives in an abortion just last year.  Plus, a committee of the United Methodist Church has ruled against a lesbian bishop, but she gets to keep her position.

3 - New religious freedom reports highlights puts Russia in top tier of concerning countries

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is an arm of the State Department which reports on countries that violate religious freedom, has released its annual report, according to Christianity Today.  And, among the 16 countries who are considered Tier 1 "Countries of Particular Concern," Russia has made the list for the first time in the almost 20-year history of the Commission.

The article states that...

The report dedicated seven pages to its problematic policies, from the “persecution of religious minorities in the occupied areas of Crimea and Donbas” to recent moves against non-Orthodox Christians in its heartland.

And, the article points out that, "Last week, Russia’s Supreme Court officially banned Jehovah’s Witnesses nationwide after several years of blacklisting their materials and shutting down regional centers."  The CT piece also says that...

...the commission wants to see more pressure put on Russian officials over repressive application of other laws, including its “foreign agents” law—which restricts missionary activity—and a 2016 anti-evangelism regulation (known as the “Yarovaya law”)—which keeps non-Orthodox Russians from sharing their faith outside official church buildings.

According to the article:

The full list of Tier 1 countries of particular concern includes: Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, with the addition of Central African Republic, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Syria, and Vietnam this year.

The countries on the Tier 2 list are: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cuba, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Laos, Malaysia, and Turkey.

2 - Pro-life group displays socks on U.S. Capitol grounds

Nearly 200,000 baby socks were displayed on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol recently, a demonstration led by Students for Life for America, according to a WORLD Magazine piece. Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, stated, “These socks represent all the women betrayed by the abortion industry and their preborn babies who will never be able to wear the baby socks because of Planned Parenthood,” and added, “This generation wants to defund Planned Parenthood. They expect our elected officials to keep the promises they made during the election.”

The article reported that Planned Parenthood aborted almost 324,000 babies just last year. Students for Life had set out to collect enough socks to represent each of those babies, and once they exceeded half their goal, the socks were transported via moving trucks.  The article also points out that Planned Parenthood "receives around $500 million of annual federal funding."

U.S. Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska, along with representatives of pro-life groups, including the Susan B. Anthony List and Americans United for Life, were there for the event. The Senator, referring to the number of abortions performed by Planned Parenthood, said: "It’s just a devastatingly large number, and we need to have images like this so that people start to reflect on the magnitude of the suffering that’s happening out there.”

1 - United Methodist body finds lesbian bishop breaks church rules, but allows her to stay in position

Last year, the Western Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church ordained a lesbian bishop, and this week, the denomination's Judicial Council ruled that the consecration of Karen Oliveto as a bishop violated church law, according to an article on the ChristianToday.com website.

However, the council did not remove Oliveto from her position. The article states that, "the bishop 'remains in good standing,' the Judicial Council said until an administrative or judicial process is completed."  The article reported that:

The court – which decided against her by 6-3 – declined to remove her as a bishop, sending that decision back to the jurisdiction that elected her. However, it said that an openly homosexual and partnered bishop may be charged with disobedience to church law, along with other bishops and clergy who consecrated her.

Jeff Lomperis of the Institute on Religion and Democracy reported on the Juicy Ecumenism blog that in separate decisions, "the Council invalidated a resolution from the Northeastern Jurisdiction promoting disobedience to the church’s sexuality standards and ruled that the even liberal-leaning regional conferences like New York and Northern Illinois must make 'full examination' of ordination candidates to screen out those unwilling to abstain from homosexual practice, adultery, or pre-marital sex."

Lomperis stated, "I celebrate that these landmark rulings should now make it significantly easier to bring accountability for pastors who choose to violate biblical standards for sexual self-control. We are slowly but increasingly strengthening biblical accountability in our church." But, he added he was disappointed that Oliveto was not removed from her position.

The 3 - April 23, 2017

On this week's edition of The 3, highlighting three stories of relevance to the Christian community, there is news out of Egypt - again - regarding ISIS and terror, as a Greek Orthodox monastery faced a recent ISIS assault.  Also, a Christian holding the principal leadership role in Indonesia's capital has been defeated in his bid for another term.  And, the U.S. Supreme Court held oral arguments just this week in a key religious liberty case.

3 - Greek Orthodox monastery victimized by ISIS in Egypt

The extreme terrorist organization ISIS is continuing to wreak havoc, and while its involvement in high-profile targets, such as the attack in Paris this past week, seems to garner headlines, you can still keep in mind that ISIS is committed to carrying out attacks on Christians.

Just two weeks after the deadly Palm Sunday attacks on two Coptic Christian churches in Egypt, a Greek Orthodox monastery suffered an attack, with the responsibility claimed by ISIS, according to a report on the Christianity Today website.  The attack occurred at the ancient monastery of St. Catherine on the southern Sinai peninsula.  The article states:

One policeman was killed and four injured during an exchange of gunfire at a checkpoint about half a mile from the monastery entrance. Police were eventually able to gain control and force the militants to flee, according to the Ministry of Interior as reported by Ahram Online.

A Coptic tour guide, Ibrahim Morgan, is quoted as saying, “Of course if you hit the Sinai and St. Catherine’s, tourists will stay away,” adding, "But I think this is a message also for the pope.”  Pope Francis is scheduled to visit Egypt in the coming week.

The CT article notes that St. Catherine's was named for a fourth-century martyr from Alexandria, and states: 

In the mid-19th century, the fourth-century Codex Sinaiticus was discovered in St. Catherine’s ancient library, at the time the oldest near-complete text of the Bible. The library boasts more than 8,000 early printed books, and is considered second only to the Vatican in collection of early biblical manuscripts.

2 - Christian governor in Indonesia defeated

Basuki Tjahaja Purnama is the first Christian governor of the city of Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. His effort to win a second term, however, was unsuccessful, as he was defeated by his Muslim opponent, Anies Baswedan, according to a report on the Mission Network News website.

Basuki was reportedly leading throughout much of the election season, but he had been accused of blasphemy by radical Muslim groups. He will be facing a trial in Indonesia on blasphemy charges.

The MNN article states:

...analysts say this recent election may signal a growing confidence in the use of religion as a political weapon by the Muslim-majority population. And a local news outlet calls this latest election in Indonesia the “dirtiest, most polarizing and most divisive the nation has ever seen.”

Basuki had been accused of speaking against Islam as the result of his words apparently being incorrectly related.  An earlier report on the AsiaNews.it website, which had been linked to on the Christianity Today site, stated that;

Buni Yani, communications professor at the London School of Central Jakarta, is accused of having manipulated the words of the Christian governor of the capital to make them offensive to Islam. He defended himself by saying I did it "by mistake", but public opinion has it that it opened an investigation.

1 - U.S. Supreme Court hears major religious liberty case; is another on horizon?

The U.S. Supreme Court held oral arguments this past week in the case of a church that wished to participate in a Missouri program that offers opportunities for non-profit organizations to obtain resurfacing materials made from recycled tires.  The church, even though it apparently qualified, was denied from benefiting from it because it was a religious organization.

The church, Trinity Lutheran Church in Columbia, MO, filed a lawsuit and was turned back at the Federal district and appeals court level.  So, the high court took up the case.

WORLD Magazine has a report on Wednesday's hearing.   The article opened this way:

Supreme Court justices on both sides of the ideological spectrum seemed concerned about the state of Missouri’s decision to exclude a church from a neutral government subsidy program, a positive sign for religious liberty advocates watching today’s oral arguments. But the justices also suggested the case might be moot due to recent state policy changes, leaving court-watchers uncertain about whether the justices will rule at all.

Those new developments?  The new Republican governor of Missouri has enacted a change in policy that prevents religious groups from being omitted from the program.  But, David Cortman of the Alliance Defending Freedom, which is representing the church, according to WORLD:

...told the justices there is no assurance the state will retain its new policy after Greitens leaves office. He said this new policy, which Greitens announced on Facebook, can just as easily be switched back when the political winds shift. Since the Missouri Supreme Court already ruled against Trinity, someone is sure to challenge the new policy, he added.

One of the elephants in the room regarding this term of the U.S. Supreme Court, at least in the eyes of the SCOTUS Blog, seems to be the case of a Colorado cake baker who declined to provide products for a same-sex wedding.  At the beginning of April, the site reported:

The justices have now considered the petition for review in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission at five consecutive conferences without acting on it. The custom-cake business owned by Jack Phillips, who describes himself as a “cake artist,” argues that Colorado’s public accommodations law violates the First Amendment by requiring Phillips to create custom wedding cakes for same-sex weddings, in violation of his religious beliefs. As is their practice, the justices have not explained why they have not yet ruled on Phillips’ petition. The electronic docket for the case has not yet been updated, but if – as expected – the case is once again scheduled for consideration at the justices’ next conference, on April 13, we could hear something on Monday, April 17.

Make that seven conferences, apparently, since the high court passed on the case on the 13th and met on Friday, April 21 in another conference, but did not accept any new cases. 

The 3 - April 16, 2017

This week on The 3, there is story from Alabama that has made national impact, about a governor, who was a former Baptist deacon, who speaks the faith language, but was forced from office in the wake of a scandal.  Also, two new appointees from President Trump are signals of his continued commitment to surround himself with people who embrace a perspective consistent with Scripture. And, the President signed his first piece of pro-life legislation this week, the same week that Supreme Court justice Neil Gorsuch, who was widely supported by pro-life groups, was sworn in.

3 - Christians respond to Bentley resignation

The words were full of Scriptural principles:

With the strength that God gives me every day, with the blessed assurance that I have in my salvation in Jesus Christ, I have worked hard to move beyond any of my past mistakes. And especially this time of year at Easter, I am grateful that I serve a loving and forgiving God who loves me, and he loves each and every one of us unconditionally.

That was taken from a WHNT Television story.  Former Alabama governor Robert Bentley was speaking on April 7, just 4 days before his resignation, saying that he would not resign and calling on people to halt the exposure of personal details of his activity.  The Alabama Ethics Commission had announced just days before that it had found "probable cause" that Bentley had violated ethics laws, and a the same day that an expansive House Impeachment Committee report was released.  He went on:

Last year, I got to a point where I recognized and I realized I could not carry these burdens on my own. I got to the point where I knew I could not do this by myself. That day last May, I asked God to take these struggles and to help me carry these burdens. And I found freedom in that, and I completely gave him all of me, and I dedicated myself to depending on him. And with the prayer and opportunity God gives me, I’ve worked hard trying to restore and reconcile with my family, especially my boys who I love with all my heart.

Now, you can hope and pray that what he declared - walking in forgiveness and reconciliation - would indeed take place.

Baptist Press featured an article that included quotes from a variety of Alabama Southern Baptist leaders.  State convention president John Thweatt responded: "More than anything, we need to pray for Gov. [Robert] Bentley," adding, "Pray for his family. Pray for our new governor [Kay Ivey], lifting her up and asking God to give her direction and give her wisdom."  The article continues:

Thweatt, pastor of First Baptist Church in Pell City, Ala., said moral failures among politicians are "especially devastating for us when it's a person who claims to be a believer." He added Christians should condemn the former governor's sin but not become judgmental.

"There is an expectation of holiness for the child of God," Thweatt said. Because all believers are susceptible to sin and moral failure, "we've got to take steps to make sure we're walking in sanctification."

The article pointed out that Bentley is a former deacon chair at First Baptist Church of Tuscaloosa.

So, legislatively speaking, how will new Kay Ivey, govern, especially related to social issues. The Susan B. Anthony list tweeted out: "@GovernorKayIvey is a #prolife, pro-woman champion. She's a longtime friend of SBA List. And now she is Governor of Alabama!"

With regard to gambling, Ivey seems to favor a statewide vote on gambling.  According to a WIAT Television story:

When asked about the future of gambling in Alabama, she says it’s a complex issue.

“Just a pure simple lottery, that would probably have some merit, but there is no such thing as a pure simple lottery,” Ivey said. “Section 65 I have the constitution, I believe it is, forbids the lottery, so if we are going to have a lottery, we have got to repeal that, and if he [sic] repeal that, it opens the door for all types of gambling.”

During her brief campaign for governor in 2010, before she decided to run for lieutenant governor, Ivey had said, according to WBRC Television:

Monday morning on Good Day Alabama, Ivey called for a simply worded referendum: "Do you support the legalization of casino gambling, yes or no?"

Ivey says the current legal and legislative battle over e-bingo in the state has been distracting. She believes if a simple referendum passed, it would be followed up by a vote to detail how gambling would operate in the state.

Governor Bentley had set up a committee to "study" the issue of gambling.  A report had been expected by the end of the legislative session.

2 - Trump nominees contrast with previous administration's agenda

A number of the President's actions thus far have contained plenty for which Christian conservatives can be grateful.  Some of the high-profile people with whom Mr. Trump has surrounded himself  are people who have displayed strong faith, such as Vice-President Pence, Attorney General Sessions, HUD Secretary Ben Carson, and Education Secretary DeVos.

Now, there is word that people have been nominated by the new administration who can be expected to pursue an agenda that is more in line with traditional values than some in the previous administration.

Take, for instance, Roger Severino.  He is described by LifeSiteNews, which reported:

President Trump has appointed social conservative Roger Severino to head the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in a choice celebrated by pro-family advocates and condemned by pro-LGBTQ leftists.

Severino, a Harvard Law School graduate who served as director of the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society at the conservative Heritage Foundation, has written and published extensively against leftist “gender ideology” and the Obama administration’s promotion of transgenderism in the military.

Ken Blackwell of Family Research Council said, according to the article that...

...HHS Secretary Price is “building a team” and “has a game plan” to “attack the administrative state,” which includes dismantling the far-reaching tentacles of Obama’s pro-LGBT agenda across the federal government’s bureaucracy.

And, then there is the appointment of Mark Green to be the next Secretary of the Army.  Again, from LifeSiteNews:

President Trump has chosen a Tea Party, pro-life conservative Christian and former U.S. Army flight surgeon as Secretary of the Army in a move that LGBTQ activists denounced, according to news sources.

If approved by the Senate, Tennessee State Sen. Mark Green, a Clarksville Republican, would fill the spot occupied by Eric Fanning, who was appointed in 2016 by former President Obama as the first “out” homosexual to hold the post.

Open homosexuality was not allowed in the Armed Forces until Obama signed a bill ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in 2011. As LifeSiteNews reported, Fanning was a leading pro-“transgender” advocate in the military and a key player behind Obama’s policy change allowing gender-confused individuals to serve openly.

The article also points out that:

Donald Trump campaigned for president as one who would strongly defend religious liberty, and his reported appointment of Dr. Green as Army Secretary could further that objective.

Under Obama, politically correct, pro-secular military actions that effectively stripped servicemembers of their free-conscience rights proliferated. The anti-religious-freedom cases only slowed after successful legal challenges from groups like First Liberty, which specializes in defending military conscience rights.

1 - President signs resolution allowing states to refuse to fund Planned Parenthood

Another pro-life victory under the Trump administration was recorded this past week, as the President signed into law his first pro-life piece of legislation, according to a piece on the WORLD Magazine website.

The article, released on Thursday, states:

Trump signed the Congressional Review Act today, which blocks a last minute order President Barack Obama issued in the waning days of his presidency. The Obama order banned 13 conservative states from redirecting Planned Parenthood’s Title X funding to community health centers that do not offer abortion. This is the first piece of pro-life legislation Trump has signed into law and the first time the U.S. Senate has successfully passed a pro-life bill in more than eight years.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, President of the Susan B. Anthony List, is quoted: "The resolution signed today simply ensures that states are not forced to fund an abortion business with taxpayer dollars,” adding, “Rather, states have the option to spend Title X money on comprehensive healthcare clinics that better serve women and girls.”

The WORLD piece noted that, "About 25 percent of all Title X grants currently go to Planned Parenthood and its affiliates. In total, Planned Parenthood receives about $500 million in federal funds each year."  Title X grants are set aside for family planning services, and 13 states had been shifting money away from Planned Parenthood, but were then blocked by the Obama administration. This restores those states' ability to direct such funds to clinics that do not perform abortions.

The 3 - April 9, 2017

On this week's edition of The 3, highlighting stories of relevance to the Christian community, find out about one of the Trump administration's latest pro-life moves.  Also, there's a disturbing ruling out of a Federal appeals court that provides protection from Federal discrimination laws based on sexual orientation.  And, the first nominee by President Trump to the U.S. Supreme Court has been confirmed.

3 - Trump administration changes policy on U.N. population control initiative

This week, the Trump administration made another pro-life decision, announcing that it would no longer use U.S. taxpayer dollars to contribute to China's population control policy through the United Nations.  The Susan B. Anthony List website announced that the administration had invoked the Kemp-Kasten Amendment, which "gives the President the authority to determine whether an organization should be de-funded because it 'supports or participates in the management of a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization.'"

SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser is quoted as saying, “The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has a long history of supporting China’s oppressive population control activities, including forced abortions,” adding, “We should all be able to agree that forced abortions are a horrific violation of human rights. It is sickening to think of our tax dollars supporting such abuse of women and children. We commend President Trump for standing up for women and protecting taxpayers from funding forced abortions.”

The SBA website stated that according to a determination by the U.S. State Department, "UNFPA put together their program in 'close consultation with the [Chinese] Government' and calls for implementation through government agencies. Specifically, 'the NHFPC, which is responsible for implementing and enforcing China’s program of forced abortion and involuntary sterilization, appears in [the current UNFPA China program] as a UNFPA partner in anticipated family planning-related outcomes.'  Even though China has modified its one-child policy to allow two children, there are still a variety of coercive elements, according to the SBA List.

2 - U.S. circuit court issues ruling classifying "sexual orientation" as protected

In a shocking Federal court decision that runs counter to rulings in other circuits, as Mandi Ancalle, General Counsel for Government Affairs for the Family Research Council pointed out on The Meeting House this past Friday, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided to make "sexual orientation" a protected class under Federal discrimination laws, broadly interpreting the word "sex" to include orientation.

The Family Research Council website pointed out:

For years, liberals have tried to pass legislation making "sexual orientation" a protected category under the Civil Rights Act -- first with ENDA (the Employment Non-Discrimination Act) and then with the "Equality Act." The House and Senate rejected them every time. They recognized, as we do, that sexual orientation wasn't on the minds of legislators 53 years ago when it was trying to weed out prejudice -- and more importantly, it wasn't in the text of the law that passed! No bother, liberals said. We'll just rewrite the policy through our activist courts.

And Tuesday, the 7th Circuit was more than willing to comply. "For many years," Chief Judge Diane Wood admitted, "the courts of appeals of this country understood the prohibition against sex discrimination to exclude discrimination on the basis of a person's sexual orientation." So by her own admission, there's absolutely no justification for rewriting the law. Still, she goes on, it's the court's responsibility to take a "fresh look" at its position. And in doing so, she writes, "we conclude today that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a form of sex discrimination."

So, while the chief judge was advocating for a "fresh look," dissenting judge Diane Sykes said, "We are not authorized to infuse the text with a new or unconventional meaning or to update it to respond to changed social, economic, or political conditions."  Sykes showed a proper understanding of the separation of powers when she wrote: "The Constitution assigns the power to make and amend statutory law to the elected representatives of the people. However welcome today's decision might be as a policy matter, it comes at a great cost to representative self-government."

Since now you have Federal circuits that have issued conflicting rulings on this matter, it has perhaps increased the probability that the matter will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, the newest member of which has been confirmed.

1 - Gorsuch confirmation well-received by a number of Christian organizations

On Friday, Judge Neil Gorsuch of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was confirmed as the newest Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.  The confirmation process was not without its expected drama, as the Senate allowed debate to be ended by a vote of 51 Senators, rather than the 60 that had customarily been the threshold for votes concerning judicial nominations - that was ended for judges on all Federal levels, except for the Supreme Court, several years ago.

Gorsuch had attracted the support of a number of Christian pro-life and pro-family organizations. Jeanne Mancini, President of the March for Life, appeared on Friday's edition of The Meeting House program on Faith Radio.  MFL issued a congratulatory statement, saying, in part:

...We were pleased to support Judge Gorsuch’s nomination, as were our grassroots activists from across America who sent thousands of messages to their Senators in support of his nomination. We thank Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for remaining steadfast throughout this process and President Trump for keeping his promise to the American people in nominating a pro-life Justice to the Supreme Court. November exit polls showed that 1 in 5 Americans prioritized the Supreme Court nomination when casting their vote, and with a majority of 57% of those voters casting a vote for Donald Trump, it is clear that the majority of American voters wanted a strict constructionist.

Mancini had written an op-ed piece that appeared in TIME Magazine in March.  In it, she wrote, as referenced on the March for Life website:

Whether recognizing the HHS Mandate as oppressive to the many consciences it violates in both Hobby Lobby v. Sebelius and Little Sisters v. Burwell, or affirming that even a stillborn baby’s rights deserve protection in Pino v. United States, Judge Gorsuch consistently affirms that, as an originalist, respect for all life is of the utmost priority.

As it was pointed out in a Religion News Service piece regarding his involvement in two cases involving religious liberty and the sanctity of life:

In both cases, religious organizations — a Catholic order of nuns and the evangelical owners of a craft store chain — sought exemptions from providing birth control under the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. “All of us face the problem of complicity,” he wrote in support of Hobby Lobby. Government should not force those with “sincerely held religious beliefs” to comply with “conduct their religion teaches them to be gravely wrong.”

That article also referenced what the latest Justice on the high court had written in a book

“All human beings are intrinsically valuable and the intentional taking of human life by private persons is always wrong,” he wrote. “The law … doesn’t just apply to protect popular religious beliefs: it does perhaps its most important work in protecting unpopular religious beliefs, vindicating this nation’s long-held aspiration to serve as a refuge of religious tolerance.”

The 3 - April 2, 2017

This week's edition of The 3 features several flashpoints in what is described as the "culture war," which, by the way, is not over, and should not be withdrawn from by people of faith.  Federal regulations concerning sexual orientation and gender identity have come to the fore recently, as new policy issued by the Trump administration seems to overturn an Obama-era directive that force Federal contractors to give consideration SOGI.  Also, 2 videographers who have been exposing Planned Parenthood face over a dozen felony charges in California.  Plus, North Carolina lawmakers, in attempting to appease LGBT activists, a misguided sports oversight body, and the misinformed business community, have rescinded key parts of the state's transgender bathroom law.

3 - Executive order reportedly repeals favorable treatment regarding sexual orientation for Federal contractors

Earlier this year, there was concern in the Christian public policy community about the Trump administration requiring Federal contractors to recognize sexual orientation and gender identity in its hiring practices.  As a story on the NBCNews.com website pointed out, this came around the time that there was a rumored executive order coming on religious freedom, which never materialized.

Well, according to that NBC story, the Trump administration may have relaxed the rules left over from the previous administration about recognizing the so-called "rights" of those in the LGBT community.

The story states that:

With little fanfare on Monday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that LGBTQ advocates say rolls back lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights and breaks a promise to that community not to make such changes to existing policy.

The executive order revokes key components of the Obama administration's previous executive order banning federal contractors from discriminating against employees on the basis of sexual orientation or identity, gay rights advocates say.

The article also said:

LGBTQ advocates say they were particularly rattled by Trump's Monday signing, since revoking the compliance requirement would appear to make existing protections against gender identity and sexual orientation discrimination meaningless.

The White House denies this is the case, but it is worth watching.

Oh, and LGBTQ advocates are also up in arms because the Trump administration has changed some announced plans to include questions on sexual orientation in the 2020 Census.  But FoxNews.com reports:

But never before have there been questions about sexual orientation and gender identity. In fact, not so long ago, the LGBT community probably would have seen such inquiries as an invasion of privacy.

But during the Obama era, a number of federal agencies, as well as congressional Democrats, wanted to add such questions. And a preliminary draft for the 2020 Census released earlier this week suggested there might be some.

The final draft sent to Congress from the Census Bureau did not feature such questions. John Thompson, head of the Census Bureau—which is part of the Department of Commerce--explained in a letter that they’d investigated if there was a “legislative mandate” to collect such data and determined there was “no federal data need to change the planned census.”

2 - Videographers exposing Planned Parenthood arrested in CA, Planned Parenthood is not

The Center for Medical Progress videos of Planned Parenthood officials discussing how they obtain and sell the parts from unborn babies have brought far-reaching implications, including increased scrutiny of the nation's largest abortion provider.  But, in a stunning turn of events, according to the LiveActionNews.org website, "David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt, the undercover investigators behind the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) videos exposing the trafficking of baby body parts and other potentially illegal activities at Planned Parenthood, have been charged with 15 felony counts of invasion of privacy in the state of California."

Live Action President Lila Rose responded:

Using state power to attack citizen journalists who expose crimes against the defenseless is a severe miscarriage of justice.

She said that Daleiden and Merritt "should be lauded for their brave work, not punished."  Referring to the current AG, Xavier Becerra, and his predecessor, now-Senator Kamala Harris, she stated:

California’s last two pro-abortion attorneys general have yet to investigate Planned Parenthood after two congressional committees found significant evidence that it may have broken the law with its baby parts trafficking scheme. Similar charges against David and Sandra were dropped in Texas months ago, yet Mr. Becerra insists on punishing them and putting his political agenda ahead of the laws that he was sworn to uphold.

1 - North Carolina lawmakers cave on transgender bathroom law

The "all-or-nothing" strategy of those pushing the LGBT agenda was on full display, as organizations devoted to forcing all people to accept their unbiblical view of sexuality did a "full-court press" against a legislative compromise that was designed to appease them.  Didn't work in the case of HB2 in North Carolina, a state that faced potentially retaliative action by, of all organizations, the NCAA! At the Family Research Council website, FRC.org, the analysis went like this:

In the "deal" struck by State Senate Leader Phil Berger (R) and House Speaker Tim Moore (R), North Carolina rushed to pass a modified version of HB 2 in hopes of wooing the college sports association back to the state. What the measure has succeeded in doing is revealing the definition of compromise for LGBT agitators – total surrender of those who oppose their radical agenda.

According to FRC, "What the LGBT agitators don't like is that in places like government buildings and schools, the state would reset its policy to the pre-HB 2 standard (which is still gender-specific)." The compromise also puts into place a three-year moratorium on municipalities, like Charlotte, revising their laws to accommodate SOGI demands.

As the Council states the conservatives...

...are frustrated that the state is even trying to appease these cultural bullies. As anyone who's tried to negotiate with LGBT activists knows, they won't be satisfied until conservatives have unilaterally surrendered. There's no need to give even the appearance of compromise on what a majority of Americans believe are common-sense protections. Especially not now, when Texas and 12 other states are on the verge of solidifying their own privacy laws. "This... will not solve anything!" said our friends at the N.C. Family Policy Council and N.C. Values Coalition. And ironically, the NCAA, who this whole "deal" was meant to placate, wouldn't even comment on whether it supported the idea.

Another FRC piece points out that NCAA President Mark Emmert said, "We've tried to do a number of analyses, laying them all side by side, and it very quickly becomes very, very difficult. What distinguished North Carolina was, as you pointed out, there were four distinct problems that the board had with that bill. They've removed some of those now but now, as you point out, not all of them. And the question the board will be debating [is]: If you remove two or three of them, is that enough-- relative to other states?"