Imposing medical things while not knowing what’s in the contract….. and more on today’s CrossPolitic Daily Newsbrief. I’m Toby Sumpter and today is Tuesday, November 2, 2021. Happy Election Day -- make sure you get out and vote. And many apologies for a dead week of daily news briefs -- we were out of town recording other things that we will be sharing with you soon!

Ibram X. Kendi was in the news over the weekend after tweeting a link to an article and then deleting it. The article was from The Hill describing how college applicants often lie about their race, pretending to be non-white in order to gain entrance into colleges. 

The now-deleted tweet said: “More than a third of White students lied about their race on college applications, and about half of these applicants lied about being Native American. More than three-fourths of these students who lied about their race were accepted.”

Why the backlash? Well, opponents of Kendi’s anti-racism philosophy pointed out that the tweet and article didn’t really support the narrative that American is a hotbed of systemic racism, if, well, everyone is clambering to identify as the supposedly subjugated races. Kendi is often cited as a leading proponent of Critical Race Theory. 

Who is this Ibram X. Kendi? Dr. Kendi is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities and the Founding Director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research. He is the host Be Antiracist with Ibram X. Kendi, a new podcast. In 2020, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He’s the author of the book “How to be Antir-Racist.” His next book, How To Raise An Antiracist, will be published on June 14, 2022 and is available now for pre-order.

But what’s really interesting is that Dr. Kendi apparently recently said he was quite horrified about his daughter coming home saying she wants to be a boy:

Dr. Ibram X. Kendi Says His Daughter Wanting to be a Boy is “Horrifying”

Now of course Dr. Kendi is right: this is horrifying. And Kendi is at least somewhat consistent in seeming to be against people pretending to be what they are not. But what he doesn’t seem to understand is why what he is doing is actually encouraging people to desire to become what they are not. He’s feeding discontent when he propigates the notion that everything is a power struggle between races. “What affirmative messages can we be teaching her about being a girl that can protect her from the messages she is hearing in our home or even outside our home?” I’m glad he’s asking the question, and I hope he considers Critical Race Theory is part of the problem. Of course he’s exactly right. His daughter needs to be taught that being created in the image of God as female is glorious. But the question is: can Kendi say the same thing about a young white boy who has started to suspect that he won’t be able to get into college because of the color of his skin? 

Werkz: 

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Colonel Jeff Cooper, “Carrying a gun is not supposed to be comfortable, it’s supposed to be comforting.”

Kyle Rittenhouse trial starts Mon, Nov 1. He is on trial for homicide, attempted homicide, and possession of a dangerous weapon under 18 after shooting 3 and killing 2 in the Kenosha, WI riots. CNN pays tribute to the rioters Rittenhouse shot: https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/01/us/kyle-rittenhouse-shooting-victims-trial/index.html This is going to be a big trial for 2nd amendment and self-

This is Toby Sumpter with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Tuesday, August 18, 2020.

Today you will hear about Trump going postal, dead people are voting again, Fortnite goes to war with Apple and Google, Facebook sometimes sends Democrats to timeout, and Ted Cruise has thoughts about US dealings with Iran. 

DNC Goes Virtual

The Democratic National Convention started Monday, packed full of disgruntled Republicans, or at least John Kasich.  The originally scheduled Milwaukee convention has been transformed into a virtual convention, with speeches being delivered from various locations across the country. In addition to former Republican Presidential candidate John Kasich, Michelle Obama and Former Democratic Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders had the microphone Monday night. 

Has Trump Gone Postal?

You might be wondering what all the fuss in the news about the US Postal Service is about. Former President Barack Obama recently accused President Trump of trying to “actively kneecap” the Postal service in an effort to suppress mail-in voting. For some reason many democrats have been particularly giddy about the idea of mass mail-in voting. And please note, this is not the same thing as absentee voting, where you request a ballot, it is sent to you, and then you send it in. That sort of thing has been done routinely for many years. But the idea that every eligible voter might receive a ballot to mail in, is quite different and raises a number of legitimate questions. Like, for example, how do we know if the ballot returned was returned by the right person? How do we know that person has not moved, voted twice, or maybe even died? 

Meanwhile, the US Postal Service has lost 78 Billion since 2007. It is not exactly in tip-top shape. Since the advent of email, the need for letters has dropped dramatically. And then comes the Coronapanic. In the 2 Trillion dollar CARES Act, congress gave the Postal Service permission to borrow up to 10 Billion. Completely separately, 400 million was included in for the Election Assistance Commission.  Later, the House barely based another Coronavirus bill called HEROES Act which has not yet seen the light of day in the Senate. That bill earmarked 25 Billion as a full bailout gift to the Postal Service. Likewise, in the HEROES Act a few million was also earmarked for more Election Assistance. But again, the HEROES Act got stuck after the House passed it. 

But the US Postmaster has been busy doing his job. His name is Louis DeJoy (a major Republican donor and Trump supporter), but he started implementing changes to help the ailing postal service, including two particular pilot programs: the first is to implement an Expedited Street/Afternoon Sortation in order to cut down on overtime hours being paid. The second is the removal under utilized collection boxes and letter sorter machines. With the decline in sending letters, the collection boxes and letter sorter machines just aren’t being used as much. They cost money to maintain and sorter machines take up a lot of space. 

Well, all of this is the backstory on the giddy Democrats wanting universal mail-in voting for the Presidential election while Trump and other Republicans have raised doubts and concerns. And then there’s the Post Master doing his job and a stimulous bill held up in congress. Oh, and one more thing, in a couple of interviews Trump has apparently conflated all the money in the stimulus bills as related to funding mail in voting. Thus, adding to the blood in the water for the democrats. Trump is removing letter collection boxes, letter sorter machines, and won’t approve the stimulus money for the Post Office. Clearly, he is preparing to destroy the ability of people to vote by mail. 

Well, he might be bungling some of the questions, and at points seems to be conflating universal voting with absentee voting, but the Post Office has delivered hundreds of millions of piece of mail every year and despite th

This is Toby Sumpter with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Tuesday, June 29, 2021.

Plug:

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Air Force Fighter Pilot Suspended Over Mask Mandate

https://lc.org/newsroom/details/062421-fighter-pilot-suspended-over-mask-mandate

An Air Force fighter pilot in Mississippi has been disciplined, including suspension from flight status, suspension from access to classified information, and subjection to non-judicial punishment by his commanding officers, after the Air Force revoked initial approval given to his religious accommodation request. The pilot sought the religious accommodation from the requirement to otherwise wear a COVID mask while working on military property. 

Liberty Counsel sent a letter on behalf of Captain “John Doe” to Acting Secretary of the Air Force (SECAF) John P. Roth at the Pentagon, requesting the religious accommodation and that any disciplinary measures against him be reversed or revoked. Even though the Air Force has invested more than $2,000,000 in Captain “Doe’s” training, he has now been relieved of his duties despite seeking a religious accommodation. Multiple Department of Defense, Air Force and base policies explicitly require a “religious exemption” among other exceptions to the COVID mask mandates. 

The SECAF memorandum for all Air Force personnel was released on February 16, 2021. The memo states that all personnel performing official duties must wear COVID masks and maintain physical distancing, unless they qualify for one of numerous exceptions. In total, there are eight Department of the Air Force exceptions for not wearing a mask, including one for a religious exemption.

Two chaplains verified Captain “Doe’s” religious beliefs are sincerely held. Since Captain “Doe’s” Christian beliefs do not permit him to wear a mask, he submitted his initial religious accommodation request to his squadron commander on March 14, 2021. His squadron and group commanders both approved the request, and he returned to work without a COVID mask, flying for the squadron. Their decision was overturned by the wing commander and Captain “Doe’s” request was denied. Captain “Doe” then used all of his available leave (more than 30 days) as he appealed the wing commander’s decision, attempting to prevent a conflict between his orders and his faith. His subsequent appeals were denied, and his last appeal now rests in Acting Secretary Roth’s hands. 

I’m told this air force pilot is a listener of CrossPolitic. 

Democrats Block Bill to Revoke Mask Mandate on Public Transportation

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/559954-democrats-block-gop-bill-lift-mask-mandate-public-transportation

Republican Sens. Rick Scott (Fla.) and Mike Lee (Utah) were thwarted by Democrats on Wednesday when they attempted to pass a bill that would revoke the Biden administration’s mask requirement on public transportation.

The federal mask mandate for interstate transit is set to expire in September. It requires masks on airplanes, in airports, on buses and on rail systems.

“We cannot pretend this pandemic is over. This virus is still spreading, it is still mutating, it is still costing lives, and it is still leaving survivors with long-haul symptoms. And, the new delta variant is more contagious, likely to send people to the hospital, and already in our country,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-W

CrossPolitic News 1-9-20

This is Toby Sumpter with your CrossPolitic News Brief for Thursday, January 9, 2020.

https://www.fox19.com/2020/01/07/cnn-settles-lawsuit-with-nick-sandmann/

COVINGTON, Ky. (FOX19) - CNN agreed Tuesday to settle a lawsuit with Covington Catholic student Nick Sandmann.

The amount of the settlement was not made public during a hearing at the federal courthouse in Covington, Kentucky. Sandmann’s lawsuit sought $800 million from CNN, the Washington Post and NBC Universal. Trial dates are still not set for Sandmann’s lawsuit against NBC Universal and the Washington Post. The Washington Post suit sought $250 million. A federal judge let a portion of the suit go forward after The Post filed a motion to dismiss it.

Last January, social media exploded after numerous national media outlets painted Sandmann and his classmates as menacing — and in some cases racist — after an edited video emerged of Sandmann smiling, inches away from the face of Nathan Phillips, an elderly Native American man, while attending the March for Life on the National Mall. 

A more complete video of the encounter, which emerged later, showed that Phillips had approached the Covington students and begun drumming in their faces, prompting them to respond with school chants.

The lawsuit filed by Sandmann’s attorneys in the Eastern District of Kentucky claimed that 53 statements included in CNN’s coverage of the incident were defamatory. One such statement, included in a CNN opinion piece, accused the students of acting with “racist disrespect” towards Phillips.

Attorneys say the money they’re seeking is not designed to compensate Nick, but to “deter the defendants” from doing the same thing (that they’re accused of) in the future.

There are at least two biblical principles at stake here. The first is the general moral principle found in the 9th commandment, requiring honesty, specifically as it has to do with how we talk about other people. “The first one to plead his cause seems right, until his neighbor comes and examines him” (Prov. 18:17). Likewise, James says, “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (Jas. 1:19-20). For all the concern many Christians have for Trumpian style politics doing damage to our cultural civility or Christian witness, the number of Christians who jumped on this report hastily was large. I trust many of them took their posts down and apologized, but it’s simply a fact that the liberal media is feeding the narrative that Christians are the uncivil ones, while in fact they are stoking the fires of the so-called anti-fascists and liberal screechers.  

This basic moral principle is related to the biblical requirement for there to be two or three witnesses to convict anyone of a crime. In other words, the concept of due process is a thoroughly biblical concept, including the right to cross examination. Of course, reporting the news is not in the exact same category as convicting someone of a crime, but this leads to the second principle which is that of reputation. Defamation is the catch all phrase in American civil law covering libel and slander, lying about someone publicly. Bearing false witness against someone is a species of theft, damaging reputation, stealing potential business, trust and so forth. “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, loving favor rather than silver and gold” (Prov. 22:1). This means that a good reputation is very valuable and should be prized above money. Obviously, loyalty to Jesus and the truth should be valued even about a good name. Paul and Jesus and the other prophets and disciples gave not only material possessions but also their good names for the sake of the gospel. But the point is that reputation and a good name is extremely valuable, and just as it is right a proper to protect and provide for your own life and the liv

This is Gabriel Rench with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Wednesday, June 10th, 2020.

Asymptomatic spread of coronavirus is ‘very rare,’ WHO says

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/08/asymptomatic-coronavirus-patients-arent-spreading-new-infections-who-says.html

On Monday June 8th Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, head of WHO’s emerging diseases and zoonosis unit, said this at a news briefing from the United Nations agency’s Geneva headquarters: “From the data we have, it still seems to be rare that an asymptomatic person actually transmits onward to a secondary individual,” “It’s very rare.”

But then on Tuesday June 9th she dialed it back and said: “during the live Q&A, she clarified "this is a major unknown."

She goes onto say: “"The majority of transmission that we know about is that people who have symptoms transmit the virus to other people through infectious droplets -- but there are a subset of people who don't develop symptoms, and to truly understand how many people don't have symptoms, we don't actually have that answered yet," Van Kerkhove said.

"We do know that some people who are asymptomatic, or some people who don't have symptoms, can transmit the virus on," she said. "So what we need to better understand is how many of the people in the population don't have symptoms and separately how many of those individuals go on to transmit to others."

Who do we believe? And what day do we believe what they said? This is just getting embarrassing. 

Black Business Owners’ Ranks Collapse by 41% in U.S. Lockdowns

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/black-business-owners-ranks-collapse-by-41-in-us-lockdowns/ar-BB15cF7B

According to MSN: 

“The Covid-19 economic shutdown has hurt African American businesses the most among racial and ethnic groups in U.S., with a 41% decline of black owners from February to April, a new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research shows.

While the pandemic has hit entrepreneurs across the board, closing some 3.3 million small businesses at least temporarily, the sidelining of 440,000 African Americans was especially severe. Black owners may have fared worse because fewer of them operated in industries deemed “essential” during the pandemic, among other factors, according to the NBER paper. Immigrant business owners also fared poorly, with a 36% drop during the period.

“The negative early-stage impacts on minority- and immigrant-owned businesses, if prolonged, may be problematic for broader racial inequality because of the importance of minority businesses for local job creation, economic advancement, and longer-term wealth inequality,” said the report’s author, Robert Fairlie of the University of California at Santa Cruz.

The findings add to other data showing that the pandemic has broadly hit African Americans harder than other groups, with blacks suffering higher rates of mortality from the coronavirus and greater joblessness. While unemployment among white Americans fell to 12.4% last month, according to data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the jobless rate for African Americans rose slightly to 16.8%.”

For those of us who have been saying the cure is worse than the COVID, we don’t even fully know the extent of how bad this cure has been for our lives.

Fight Laugh Feast Conference in Nashville October 1-3

Before we getting into this news brief, I want to invite you to sign up for our first annual Fight Laugh Feast Conference in Nashville October 1st through 3rd. Rowdy Christian media meets the conference world – not for the faint of heart. We will kick the whole thing off with beer and psalm singing the first night, followed by a slate of speakers committed to driving the nails of the gospel into your every day life including Douglas Wilson, George Grant, Rod Martin, Glenn Sunshine, Pastor Toby, and more. The conference will conclude with a massive Fight Laugh Feast Network mashup, with representatives from all your

This is Toby Sumpter with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Friday, March 6, 2020

Nothing is Going on in the PCA, Especially Not in Missouri, Shut Up

http://www.boom.lgbt/index.php/art-enter/144-a-e/1907-the-q-collective-announces-cast-of-transluminate-2020?fbclid=IwAR3q-htun27nHZRCunI2gX6bs_A-k4KhIPqNhO7nOaeK4bfaEX-syM18828

The Missouri Presbytery of the PCA and Greg Johnson’s Memorial Presbyterian Church are back in the news today with the revelation that they recently hosted the Transluminate Arts Festival. The event describes itself as “a short-play festival and celebration of transgender, agender, non-binary, genderqueer, and genderfluid artists.” The event was held Feb. 27-29 and Feb. 29-March 1 at The Chapel, which is an event venue and ministry partner operated by volunteers from Memorial Presbyterian Church. 

Plays that were performed included a homosexual couple discussing their testosterone shots -- presumably implying that they are women trying to be men? Another description reads: “Joe, a transgender man, and Shawna, a transgender woman, are married, and Joe is carrying their child. The bottom of the page includes a content warning: Plays may contain adult language and frank sexual situations.

Remember, Greg Johnson and Memorial Presbyterian were in the news back in 2018 when they hosted the first Revoice Conference, celebrating LGBT+ and other sexual minorities and helping them live in the traditional sexual ethic. If that sounds like a contradiction to you, you wouldn’t be the only one. Greg Johnson was interviewed by CrossPolitic, and you can find that discussion in our show archives at crosspolitic dot com or on our youtube page. Included in their breakout sessions were titles like What Queer Treasure will be in the New Jerusalem? This kicked up quite a dust storm, which resulted in Missouri Presbytery forming a study committee to investigate Pastor Greg Johnson and Memorial Pres. 

This resulted in a presbytery committee that ultimately found that Greg Johnson and Memorial Pres did not commit any grave or serious errors at Revoice 2018 and nothing that took place there struck at the vitals of religion and it is too early to pass any judgment on whether the emphasis on the need for ‘gay spaces’ is a grave or serious doctrinal error. The Missouri Presbytery also voted to commend the practice of same-sex back rubs but promised to revisit the issue next year. 

Likewise, the scandal elicited a response from Mark Dalbey, President of Covenant Theological Seminary – the official seminary of the PCA, located in St. Louis in March of 2019. Dalbey responded to criticisms and questions about Revoice 2018 . While he affirmed biblical sexuality and clearly identified homosexual identity, lust, and activity as sinful, his strongest admonition was for those who have publicly accused Covenant Seminary of compromise. The video captures quite well why conservatives consistently lose ground in these discussions. President Dalbey’s most vehement condemnation was for people who may have shared speculations about Covenant’s involvement or influence on Revoice. He effectively called the public questions and concerns “abominations” and “perversions” and “vile affections” and called sodomy and sodomite lust merely “sin.” The clearest thing from the video is that God hates slander, hates gossip, and hates anyone who raises questions and concerns publicly that might be construed by anyone as slander or gossip. So shut up. There was not a word of rebuke for Greg Johnson or Memorial Pres or the Missouri Presbytery for causing the confusion. 

Finally, remember that Greg Johnson “came out” as wishing he was a sodomite in Christianity today last year shortly before repeating the line on the floor of the PCA general assembly and receiving a round of applause. The assembly barely passed a resolution affirming the Nashville Statement (over Pastor Johnson’s objections), but when another pastor read through the major

Big news coming out of NY, but we’ll get to that in a second.

Good Monday, this is the Chocolate Knox with your Crosspolitic Daily News Brief for Monday July 26th 2021

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Remember you can send us news stories to [email protected] NEWS LIKE THIS…

Center for countering digital hate.

https://www.counterhate.com/

https://252f2edd-1c8b-49f5-9bb2-cb57bb47e4ba.filesusr.com/ugd/f4d9b9_00b2ad56fe524d82b271a75e441cd06c.pdf

Veterans Affairs to mandate COVID vaccine for health care personnel, first such mandate for federal agency

Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough just today made COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for all VA health care personnel, the first such mandate by a federal agency.

The mandate includes physicians, dentists, nurses and others who work in patient-facing roles.

 The VA said each employee will have eight weeks to be fully vaccinated.

WHITE HOUSE SAYS COVID VACCINATIONS ‘PICKING UP’ AMID CONCERNS OF DELTA VARIANT

"We’re mandating vaccines for Title 38 employees because it’s the best way to keep Veterans safe, especially as the Delta variant spreads across the country," McDonough said Monday. 

07/21/2021: Lab Alert: Changes to CDC RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 Testing

https://www.cdc.gov/csels/dls/locs/2021/07-21-2021-lab-alert-Changes_CDC_RT-PCR_SARS-CoV-2_Testing_1.html

Audience: Individuals Performing COVID-19 Testing

Level: Laboratory Alert

After December 31, 2021, CDC will withdraw the request to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of the CDC 2019-Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Real-Time RT-PCR Diagnostic Panel, the assay first introduced in February 2020 for detection of SARS-CoV-2 only. CDC is providing this advance notice for clinical laboratories to have adequate time to select and implement one of the many FDA-authorized alternatives.

In preparation for this change, CDC recommends clinical laboratories and testing sites that have been using the CDC 2019-nCoV RT-PCR assay select and begin their transition to another FDA-authorized COVID-19 test. CDC encourages laboratories to consider adoption of a multiplexed method that can facilitate detection and differentiation of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza viruses. Such assays can facilitate continued testing for both influenza and SARS-CoV-2 and can save both time and resources as we head into influenza season. Laboratories and testing sites should validate and verify their selected assay within their facility before beginning clinical testing.

Americans' trust of the media is absolutely in the gutter

https://notthebee.com/article/americans-trust-of-the-media-is-completely-in-the-gutter-and-boy-you-just-hate-to-see-it

And the Bee notes about the Gallup research: 

“when political differences are accounted for, the results diverge sharply along party lines: Just 11% of Republicans trust the media, while 68% of Democrats do. But even the Democratic numbers have declined notably in recent years, as have those of Independents.”

I can’t help but to insert Club plug here. This is sort of self serving, but I cannot think of a better way to fight mainstream media, than by first joining a solid bible believing church, and secondly joining our club. Our goal here, and I hope we are doing a pretty good job of this, is to proclaim the Lordship of Christ over politics, produce quality news and commentary that you can trust, and build a network that surpass unprincipled legacy media like Fox News. So, go to FightLaughFeast.com to sign up and support our efforts. 

Texas governor bans Covid-19 vaccine mandates by any employer in state

https://apple.news/AbFpB3TM-RoeortH-jmAnHA

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday issued an executive order banning all state entities, including private employers, from enforcing vaccine mandates, the latest escalation in the Republican's resistance to public health measures during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The order states that "no entity in Texas" can enforce vaccination against anyone in the state who objects "for any reason of personal conscience, based on a religious belief, or for medical reasons, including prior recovery from COVID-19," according to a news release from the governor's office. 

"The COVID-19 vaccine is safe, effective, and our best defense against the virus, but should remain voluntary and never forced," Abbott said in a statement. 

Abbott also called on the Texas state Legislature to pass a law with the same effect. The executive order would be rescinded upon the passage of such legislation, the governor's office said. 

Southwest, American among Texas businesses defying Abbott to comply with federal vaccine mandate

https://www.statesman.com/story/business/2021/10/12/southwest-american-plan-ignore-abbott-comply-vaccine-mandate/8423456002/

Now according to the Satesman, there is a battle of the gods, and it looks like the federal god won:

“Two of the national's largest airlines — Southwest Airlines and American Airlines — both based in Texas, said Tuesday they plan to follow looming federal guidelines and require that their employees are vaccinated against COVID-19, despite an order from Gov. Greg Abbott that attempts to block such mandates.

Dallas-based Southwest Airlines last week ordered all of its estimated 55,000 employees to be vaccinated against COVID 19 by Dec. 8. That folowed a directive from President Joe Biden, who in September said all private companies with more than 100 workers must require employees to be vaccinated or conduct weekly tests for the coronavirus.

Southwest said in a written statement Tuesday that the president’s executive order “supersedes any state mandate or law,” saying the company is required to adhere to it despite Abbott’s action “to remain compliant as a federal contractor.””

But listen to this. In the same article: 

“Amber Gunst, CEO of the Austin Technology Council, said most companies in Texas are unlikely to follow the governor's mandate. Employers don't have the option to defy OSHA standards, both for legal reasons and for insurance-related concerns, she said.

"When the federal government comes in with OSHA and they say, 'this is what we need to do in order to keep employees safe,' companies have to follow those rules in order to be in compliance with OSHA, so I don't really feel that most companies are going to look at the mandate that the governor created and want to adhere to that," Gunst said.  "Com

This is Toby Sumpter with your CrossPolitic News Brief for Monday, January 6th, 2020.

That Star Wars Lesbian Smooth

NBC News reported on December 26th that authorities in Singapore and the United Arab Emirates cut the brief homosexual kiss in the latest Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Singaporean authorities told the BBC that the kissing scene was cut in order to give it the PG-13 rating. Otherwise, Singapore only allows films with homosexuality by rating them R21, which prohibits anyone under the age of 21 to see it in theaters. This is because at the age of 21, young people magically become immune to corroding effects of perversion. O wait, nevermind. 

The NBC News article notes that male homosexual acts are still illegal in Singapore, even though this “British colonial era law” is no longer enforced. The article notes that female homosexual acts are however, legal. While this seems a bit schizophrenic on the surface, it is striking that in the old testament law, only male homosexuality was criminalized. While Paul clearly identifies both male and female forms of homosexuality as sin in Romans 1, one of the most important distinctions Christians need to remember is the difference between sins and crimes. Only crimes are the jurisdiction of the civil magistrate. If God has not identified something as a crime in His word, it should not be a crime in our country, including things like smoking a cigar when you’re 17 or wearing seatbelts. Of course either one of those things might be foolish or sinful (if you’re disobeying your mother, for example), but neither should be crimes. And you cannot defend tyranny by appealing to Romans 13 or 1 Peter 2. Yes, we are to submit to human ordinances, but that doesn’t remove the fact that the civil magistrate is acting tyrannically and unlawfully. 

But back to that Star Wars lesbian smooch, NBC reports that Chinese authorities did not cut it. Could this indicate that they have are easing up on censoring homosexual and trans film representation? China had banned “Brokeback Mountain” few years ago and “Call Me By Your Name,” but while it granted ”Bohemian Rhapsody” a full theatrical release — it only did so with cuts of suggestive and gay content. It’s striking that on this particular point the tyrannical communist regime has more decency that the United States of America. 

And this links up with the recent pornography debate. Should pornography be illegal? Yes, of course. This is because pornography is a species of prostitution, and prostitution is prohibited in Lev. 19:29, Dt. 23:17, and the punishment for a priest’s daughter who turned prostitute was death (Lev. 21:9). While the death penalty would be a maximum penalty in cases of extreme debauchery and corrupt, the biblical law clearly requires civil magistrates to suppress all forms of prostitution. And we should not miss the fact that prostitution has always been closely associate with idolatry. But sexual morality and the God/gods you worship always have social and political results. You are asking for a particular kind of society by how you live sexually and how you worship. It’s also the other way around: the laws you enact are also asking for a certain sexuality and religion long term. 

So for example, back in August, Disney’s live action Mulan reboot was in the news when the lead actress Crystal Yifei Liu tweeted support for the Hong Kong police who have used increasingly harsh tactics to contain and suppress protesters. Variety’s Rebecca Davis noted then that China’s government widely praised the film, “putting Disney in an awkward position of having its interests defended by the world’s biggest authoritarian regime.” The same article notes that Variety was able to identify scores of active accounts on Twitter that had all the hallmarks of being state-backed bots, all posting under the hashtag #supportmulan. Mulan is of course the story of the female-warrior hero, which is its own form of prostitution. A cursor

Taliban spokesman says they have drawn a red line in the sand and more on today’s CrossPolitic Daily News Brief

This is Toby Sumpter. Today is Tuesday, August 24, 2021.

CREC Issues Religious Exemption Statement & Sample Letter

https://crechurches.org/documents/statements/PMOC-CREC_Religious-Exemption-Statement.pdf

Standing in the ancient Christian tradition, committed to the doctrinal standards of our local and denominational constitutions and the supremacy of the Holy Scriptures, the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC) affirms our religion’s principles of liberty of conscience, honoring and preserving human life from conception to natural death, as well as the sovereignty of individuals and families in medical and healthcare decision-making. 

Therefore, we state our unequivocal support for the right of refusal of mandatory medical procedures, whether ordered by a branch of civil government, an employer, or any other institution to which an individual is subject or dependent – in the event that an individual sincerely believes his or her life, health, wellbeing, or morality is potentially threatened by such procedures or products, or in the event that a parent has the same concern for his or her child. 

We affirm that our Christian religion protects the liberty of individuals and families to refuse any medical procedure or product on the basis of sincerely held concerns for known or unknown side effects, experimental or emergency uses, potential involvement in fetal cell lines whether in development or testing, or medical and/or political corruption or coercion. 

Therefore, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we defend the rights and responsibilities of our members to research these issues in consultation with their medical providers in order to make responsible medical decisions for themselves, including refusing vaccination or gene therapies on religious grounds. And we hereby call upon all governments, schools, employers, and other institutions to respect these deeply held religious convictions by upholding this religious liberty and/or providing religious exemptions as requested. 

On Behalf of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches 

There’s an attached sample letter that can be personalized by a pastor to be written on behalf of parishioners for schools or employers.

"Next, I want to tell our homeschool listeners about Classy Artist Box. It is a company created by a Christian art teacher who sends you everything you need to create four art projects each month. You can use their written instructions and video lessons to help guide you through each project. In addition to the four new projects each month, you’ll also have access to two and a half years worth of video lessons to enjoy as a member. Each type of subscription will cover a range of art media throughout the year, which means you have your art curricular needs covered. For 30% off of your first subscription order, use code CROSS30. To see more, check out www.ClassyArtistBox.com. 

Infrastructure Bill Back in the House With Senators 

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/23/sinema-35t-spending-bill-506583

From Politico: Kyrsten Sinema still opposes her party's plans for a $3.5 trillion, party-line spending bill. And she’s not up for a negotiation about it.

As House Democratic leaders hold back Sinema’s own Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure bill in order to push the Arizona Democrat and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) to support a multitrillion-dollar spending bill, Sinema is making it crystal clear that her mind can’t be changed. And that applies even as her own legislation becomes a bargaining chip in House Democrats’ internal discussions.

The $550 billion bipartisan infrastructure bill “is a historic win for our nation’s everyday families and employers and, like every proposal, should be considered on its own merits,” said Sinema spokesperson John LaBomba