On Thursday, July 16, 2020  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo released the DRAFT report from the Commission on Unalienable Rights’.

The commission, chaired by longtime Harvard legal scholar Mary Ann Glendon, contradicts virtually every element of the new political orthodoxy and you can hear the bias even in the headlines: 

* Mike Pompeo wants to nationalize human rights – WAPO

* Pompeo rolls out selective vision of human rights – Politico

* Pompeo says U.S. should limit which human rights it defends – Yahoo News

* Pompeo says Human Rights Policy must prioritize property rights and religion – NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/16/us/politics/pompeo-human-rights-policy.html

Only the WSJ attempted to offer a journalistically balanced article: 

The Commission on Unalienable Rights advances three main ideas. 

First, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations in 1948, though it reflected a global consensus, was shaped to an extraordinary degree by the values of the U.S. founding, and by America’s long struggle to live up to those values.

Second, progress on human rights comes not from transnational bodies or “global governance,” but from the efforts of sovereign nation states to follow America’s example by attempting to conform their practices to the noble idea of liberty. Bolstering the sovereignty of nation-states is, he and the report argue, necessary to secure human rights.

Third, successful human-rights diplomacy requires a concentrated focus on the relatively small number of rights that are recognized by a genuinely global consensus. In 1948 the U.N. consulted with philosophers and others from many non-Western as well as Western culture.

More on this next week after we’ve had an opportunity to read, digest and reflect on the report. For now, let us turn to a conversation with Matthew Hawkins with worldview look at headlines from across the country related to abortion and the most basic of our unalienable rights: the very right to life. 

* Federal Judges strike down “Heartbeat” abortion bans in Georgia and Tennessee

* Maryland federal judge allows access to abortion pill without doctor’s visit

* Utah: Judge allows legal challenge to 18 week abortion ban

* Iowa: Judge blocks 24 hour waiting period for abortions

* Notre Dame’s “How Americans Understand Abortion” is largest known indepth interview study of American attitudes on abortion. Here is a related article.

Then, I’m talking with Dan DeWitt about today’s Weekend Worldview Reader  including an argument that C.S. Lewis would have listened to hip-hop.

 

Conversations with Aykan Erdermir about Turkey and Kathryn Freeman on applying the mind of Christ to pop culture and finding entry points into conversation about racial justice.

 

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Do you have a verified Twitter account? Carmen isn’t verified either. But last night, everyone who does saw their accounts go dark.  Twitter was hacked. Carmen talks about it.

Peter Kapsner joined Carmen to talk about the hardest thing he’s ever done, the change of name of the Washington Redskins and the very idea of screaming in your heart.

Then Rebecca St James joined Carmen to talk about her new single, the album dropping next Friday and lots about family life.

 

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Rhubarb. Carmen is pretty passionate about it and throughout today’s episode listeners send her their favorite recipes. She’s going to aggregate them and share on upcoming TastyTuesday in Taste and See segment.

Ben Johnson addresses the issue of rising crime in some of America’s largest cities and his article posted at TheIRD.org and Acton.org

In the second half, Carmen talks with Tod Bolsinger from Fuller.edu  about his new book, Leadership for a Time of Pandemic: Practicing Resilience 

In final thoughts, Carmen reflects on the 75th anniversary of the day of the Trinity test, the first test of a nuclear weapon in the world.

 

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The federal government yesterday agreed to rescind rules announced by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement last week ordering international students in the country to transfer schools or leave the country if their current school decided on an online-only class schedule for the fall. The decision was announced just as a federal court hearing in Massachusetts was getting underway for a lawsuit brought by Harvard and MIT. 

How did that happen? Matthew Soerens from World Relief joins Carmen to explain the advocacy behind the decision. They also discuss the Closed Doors Report issued jointly by World Relief and Open Doors USA as well as issues related to DACA and proposed new federal rules related to asylum seekers. 

In the second half, Carmen talks with Heather Sampson and Aaron Trost about how the next generation of Christians is being equipped to engage the issues of the day through speech and debate, tempered with grace.

The NCFCA free summit information can be found here.

 

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The Atlantic picked up a story line out of North Carolina featuring neighbors who are openly feuding on Facebook.  Carmen encourages us to pause – in prayer – before posting on social media. For more on the subject, read Carmen’s posts on using your Social Media platform for Jesus…and this one on Tongue Management.

Barbara Rainey and Carmen have a wide ranging conversation including reflections on prayer and life at home. Then, in the second half, Carmen talks with Ruth Kramer from Mission Network about headlines from Sudan, Kenya, Iran and south Asia. 

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Think of this as author hour!

First, Carmen talks with regular guest Justin Giboney from the And Campaign about his new book, Compassion & Conviction.

 

Then, in the second half, author Shannon Popkin shares her latest, Comparison Girl.

 

 

 

 

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Death is in the headlines…which means God should be in the conversation.

* Nicole Thea, 24, pregnant YouTuber was 8 months pregnant – cause of death unknown

* Glee Actress,33 year old  Naya Rivera, drowned – body recovered in lake in California

* Zindzi Mandela, 59 year old daughter of Nelson and Winnie Mandela – cause of death unknown

* Kelly Preston, 57 year old wife of John Travolta, died as a result of breast cancer

* Samantha Hickey, 45 year old pediatric nurse practitioner in Boise, Idaho died of COVID. Leaves behind a husband and four children – and a lot of questions. She was 45 and had no underlying conditions. 

Carmen talks with Nick Pitts about headlines including the reality of death coming every day, why Mary Trump’s “tell all” book matters for people of Truth, and why Sports Illustrated featuring a biological man presenting as a woman in the swimsuit issue matters as well.

In the second half, Carmen has too much fun with Keith Getty – they literally ran the show OUT OF CLOCK at the end!

 

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Think you know what the terms fundamentalist and revival mean? Think again.  The world is experiencing fundamentalist revivals – but they’re not Christian. America is in the midst of her version and not everyone is raising hands in a unison of praise. Carmen talks with Peter Kapsner about the observations made by David French: America is in the grips of a fundamentalist revival

Then Carmen talks with Mike Nawrocki, the voice of Larry the Cucumber, among other things. Oh, and the other things list is really long! Veggie Tales has a Census song, new episodes on Yippee.TV, a movie in the works and Mike has a children’s book series, a podcast and he’s teaching at Lipscomb University.

 

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Carmen opens with a shout out to the The Sandwich Generation! If you’re currently feeling squeezed between demands from kids (of any age) on one side and aging parents on the other, then you’re in it! Carmen is right there with you!

She pointed to a piece on AXIOS that observed, “As the coronavirus poses risks and concerns for the youngest and oldest Americans, the generations in the middle are buckling under the increasing strain of having to take care of both.” Typically in their 30’s-50’s, these should be the most productive years of life. But increasing pressure from generations above and below them who need educational, physical, financial and other supports means employers and non-profits are feeling their absence. 

According to the Pew Research Center, 47% of adults in their 40s and 50s have a parent 65 or older and are also either raising young children or financially supporting a child 18 or older. Pew says 15% are providing financial support to both an aging parent and a child, per Pew.  And that is material support that is NOT going to non-profits, neither in financial gifts nor volunteers hours. 

Carmen then shared a list of stories she’s watching: 

Homeschooling is surging – requests literally crashed the website in North Carolina last week.

Schools with religious affiliations that meet in church facilities may open faster then public schools and since sports – a major driver of why some families choose to send their kids to public schools over classical or Christian education, is not in play this academic year

International students are going to be looking to transfer to colleges and universities that offer in person classes and on campus living options. 

Carmen’s conversations today include:

Ben Johnson on SCOTUS rulings in Religious Liberty related cases and Ben’s blog at ACTON.org on the connection between economic and political freedom.

Tom Krattenmaker, author of Confessions of a Secular Jesus Follower, discusses how much we need conversations across the divides of the day. Carmen and Tom demonstrate how that’s done!

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