FACES OUT OF THE FLOOD




Barb Davis, 74, is helped to dry land after being rescued from her flooded neighborhood after it was inundated with rain water by the remnants of Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 28, 2017 in Houston, Texas.

The face of Harvey is not one of destruction; it’s one of compassion. The evidence piles up with each passing moment, like the mountains of donated clothes and goods building up at collection points across the country.

A couple weeks back, we were wondering if we had completely forgotten how to love our neighbor. How distant those fears seem now.

These photos are a declaration: As high as the waters may rise, the human spirit is rising even higher.

Dean Mize (R) helps an evacuee from an airboat after the area was inundated with flooding from Hurricane Harvey on August 28, 2017 in Houston, Texas.
Dean Mize, right, helps an evacuee from an airboat after the area was inundated with flooding from Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 28, 2017 in Houston, Texas.
People are rescued from a flooded neighborhood after it was inundated with rain water, remnants of Hurricane Harvey, on August 28, 2017 in Houston, Texas.
People are rescued from a flooded neighborhood after it was inundated with rain water, remnants of Hurricane Harvey, on Aug. 28, 2017 in Houston, Texas.

Volunteer Dustin Langley, who lives two hours North of Houston and came down with a friend to volunteer, helps a family to their escape their flooded apartment in Kingwood, Texas. They placed them on their boat and took them to safety.
Volunteer Dustin Langley, who lives two hours North of Houston and came down with a friend to volunteer, helps a family to their escape their flooded apartment in Kingwood, Texas. They placed them on their boat and took them to safety.
People walk to a Harris County Sheriff air boat while escaping a flooded neighborhood during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey on August 29, 2017 in Houston, Texas.
People walk to a Harris County Sheriff air boat while escaping a flooded neighborhood during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 29, 2017 in Houston, Texas

 81-year-old Ramona Bennett hugs Texas Army National Guard members Sergio Esquivel after she and other residents were rescued from their flooded mPine Forest Village neighborhood due to high water from Hurricane Harvey August 29, 2017 in Houston, Texas.
81-year-old Ramona Bennett hugs Texas Army National Guard members Sergio Esquivel after she and other residents were rescued from their flooded Pine Forest Village neighborhood due to high water from Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 29, 2017 in Houston, Texas.

Steve Culver cries with his dog Otis as he talks about what he said was the, ‘most terrifying event in his life,’ when Hurricane Harvey blew in and destroyed most of his home while he and his wife took shelter there on Aug. 26, 2017 in Rockport, Texas

People board a Harris County Sheriff airboat while escaping a flooded neighborhood during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey Aug. 29, 2017 in Houston, Texas.

Rising flood waters stranded hundreds of residents of Twin Oaks Village in Clodine, Texas, where a collection of small boat owners coordinated to bring most to dry ground.

U.S. President Donald Trump holds the state flag of Texas outside of the Annaville Fire House after attending a briefing on Hurricane Harvey in Corpus Christi, Texas on Aug. 29, 2017. President Donald Trump flew into storm-ravaged Texas Tuesday in a show of solidarity and leadership in the face of the deadly devastation wrought by Harvey — as the battered U.S. Gulf Coast braces for even more torrential rain.
If you haven’t already, please consider helping the victims of Tropical Storm Harvey. LIFE Outreach International, the parent organization of The Stream, is collecting donations here. The Red Cross is also collecting monetary gifts and blood. See here for more ways to help.

Living Word Christian Center Hurricane Harvey Relief / The need is great. God is greater.
Let’s be the hands and feet of Jesus and show the love of Christ to those in desperate need of our help. 




THE COMPLETE STORY BEHIND THE ATTACKS ON JOEL OSTEEN'S LAKEWOOD CHURCH

by Billy Hallowell, Faithwire

Pastor Joel Osteen

As Pastor Joel Osteen and his church face mounting criticism for not immediately hosting Houstonians fleeing their homes in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, representatives are speaking out to provide additional background and context.

Don Iloff, a spokesperson for Lakewood Church, told Faithwire late on Monday night that the house of worship has been in touch with city and county officials in recent days and has been planning outreach efforts.


But considering that the church’s building — inside what was once the Compaq Center sports arena — is prone to flooding, Iloff said that Lakewood chose to instead focus its energies on the ways in which the church could serve as a food and resource distribution center, among other outreach efforts

And considering that Houston officials had set up shelters throughout the city — including a massive location at the George R. Brown Convention Center just five miles from Lakewood — Iloff said that the church had planned to host people in the event that those locations were full or at capacity.

“We had warning with this storm, so they set up shelters around the city … that convention center is 5 or 6 times bigger [than Lakewood],” he told Faithwire. “They set that up with everything from the cots, food, triage.”
A photo of the flooding that was said
 to be inside and outside of Lakewood Church
(Lakewood Church)

Iloff also noted that, while Lakewood was more than willing to make-do and house people, unlike the convention center, Lakewood has “no showers” and no kitchen, making the church more of an emergency shelter than anything else. Initially, the church waited to hear from city officials and planned to respond if needed.

Still, Iloff continuously affirmed that the bigger issue that impacted the decision to not immediately serve as a shelter centered on the building’s history of flooding.

“The fact is that we knew that we could not put anyone on the bottom floor,” he said, noting that the first floor is where the most space exists for housing flood victims. “We were very concerned about putting anyone on that bottom floor given the history.”

And though there has been much debate on social media about whether Lakewood experienced any flooding during Hurricane Harvey, photos provided by the church — as well as Iloff’s own account — point to water creeping up the floodgates on the lower level.

“They were within a foot of cresting the floodgates … that flootgate’s 10 feet tall,” Iloff said. “It was within a foot of coming over that floodgate.”

Lakewood Church
With more rain slated to come down in Houston over this past weekend, Iloff said Lakewood didn’t want to endanger people, especially if there was enough room in the shelter system.

But he reaffirmed that church leaders did ask government officials to let them know if and when the time came for a greater need for shelter for victims impacted by the storm.

No such request had reportedly been made before controversy surrounding Osteen and the church broke out on social media and quickly went viral.

“We were on the phone with the city … they said the shelters are fine at the moment,” he said. “We basically said we can put [a few hundred] people on the second level [and the] city said, ‘We’ll get back with you.’ We are prepared to house those people.”

Controversy initially broke out after a photo was shared on Twitter that appeared to show that the church wasn’t extensively flooded, though it is unclear when that image was taken. On Sunday, Lakewood took to its Facebook page to explain that the church wouldn’t be open for services and offered up a list of available shelters.

“Dear Houstonians! Lakewood Church is inaccessible due to severe flooding!” the message read. “We want to help make sure you are safe. Please see the list below for safe shelters around our city, and please share this with those in need!”

Iloff said that the one detail being overlooked in the current narrative is that Lakewood has a “history of sheltering people,” pointing back to Tropical Storm Allison, which devastated the region back in 2001. The church, which was still in its former location and hadn’t yet moved to the arena, housed 3,000 people and became the largest shelter in the city.

It should be noted that, at the time, the Compaq Center (where Lakewood now resides) did cancel sports events in the wake of the tropical storm, with extensive flooding being reported by the Lawrence Journal-World.

So, flooding fears on the part of Osteen’s team weren’t exactly unfounded:

When Jerry McDonald arrived at the arena that’s home of the 
Houston Comets and the Houston Rockets, he was stunned.

Flood waters from torrential rains brought by Tropical Storm Allison 
had inundated the Compaq Center, where McDonald is general manager.

“The court was floating in water four feet off the ground,” McDonald said.

And Iloff added another detail that he felt was important to emphasize: “The [church] doors have never been locked.”

A photo of the flooding that was said to be inside
Lakewood Church (Lakewood Church)
In fact, while Iloff believes the media narrative painted a picture in which scores of people were coming to the church and being turned away, he said that, until around 2 p.m. on Monday, access to the church was difficult due to flooding and that only three people had come to the church doors thus far; those people were assisted, he said.

Lakewood Church is now working with Samaritan’s Purse and has launched a fund to raise money that will strictly be used for hurricane relief, Iloff said.

The church also plans to coordinate distribution outreaches, offering baby formula, adult diapers and other supplies to members of the public.

Iloff, who said the church was already coordinating with Samaritan’s Purse before debate broke out over the initial decision not to house people, said that he believes Lakewood Church is perfectly situated to help people in the community pick up the pieces of their life after the waters recede — and that this was always the plan.

“Where we really focus our efforts … is on the aftermath of this thing,” he said. “We’re going to be dealing with this for years to come. This is when peoples’ lives need to be put back together.”

A photo emerged on Monday evening that purported to show that the church was setting up air-mattresses. And while Iloff said he could confirm that the image was taken inside the church, he had not been able to reach the church administrator to confirm the timing or purpose of those air mattresses.

Osteen himself also released a statement on Monday, saying that the church is “prepared to shelter people.” His statement came amid reports that the George R. Brown Convention Center was over capacity on Monday night.

“We have never closed our doors. We will continue to be a distribution center for those in need.  We are prepared to shelter people once the cities and county shelters reach capacity,” he said. “Lakewood will be a value to the community in the aftermath of this storm in helping our fellow citizens rebuild their lives.”




NINTH CIRCUIT COURT RULES AGAINST COACH FIRED FOR MID-FIELD PRAYER

By LIBERTY MCARTOR 
Joe Kennedy
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against former high school football coach Joe Kennedy on Wednesday. Bremerton School District suspended Kennedy in 2015 for praying at mid-field. Kennedy sued the school district in 2016, after they did not renew his contract. The religious freedom non-profit law firm First Liberty Institute is representing Kennedy.

First Liberty claims Kennedy has a Constitutional right to express his religion by praying after football games. But the Ninth Circuit ruled that Kennedy “spoke as a public employee, not as a private citizen when he kneeled and prayed on the fifty-yard line.” The Court further found that Bremerton School District was right to punish Kennedy.

No Praying on the Football Field
Kennedy, a retired Marine, began praying after games when he first started coaching in 2008.

While he initially prayed alone on the field, players started asking to join in. “It’s a free country,” Kennedy responded, allowing them to join at will. Over time the post-game prayers evolved into a tradition. Members of both teams would gather after games while Kennedy gave a brief, encouraging talk, giving thanks for the players and the game.

Years later the district was alerted to the prayers when someone complimented Kennedy’s leadership and example.

In September 2015, the district ordered Kennedy to stop praying. It claimed his prayers violated the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. According to First Liberty, Kennedy’s prayers were “constitutionally protected.” Kennedy eventually requested a religious accommodation, but was denied. When he prayed on the field anyway, the district suspended him. In 2016, the district did not renew his contract.

The EEOC granted Kennedy the right to sue for religious discrimination. First Liberty sought to have Kennedy reinstated in time for the 2016 football season. Last October, a district court denied their request.

Next Steps
Kennedy appeared before the Ninth Circuit for oral arguments in June. Two former NFL stars, the Seattle Seahawks’ Steve Largent and the Dallas Cowboys’ Chad Hennings, submitted amicus briefs. They argued that the district court’s decision not to reinstate Coach Kennedy “all but erases the line between public and private expression” for public school employees.

High school football coaches Kellen Alley and Joseph Thomas also supported Kennedy with an amicus brief. Alley and Thomas knelt alongside their players during the national anthem to protest racial injustice. They argued that “wearing school colors or being on the field does not rob a person of his or her right to engage in private expression under the First Amendment.”

The Ninth Circuit disagreed Wednesday. Kennedy “took advantage of his position to press his particular views upon the impressionable and captive minds before him,” the opinion states.

First Liberty attorney Jeremy Dys told The Stream  in June what steps they would take should the Ninth Circuit rule against Kennedy. They would first ask for a rehearing en banc. That would allow all nine judges at the Ninth Circuit to hear the case again. If the Ninth Circuit still rules against Kennedy, the next step will be the U.S. Supreme Court.


PRESIDENT TRUMP CUTS MORE US DEBT FOR A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME THAN ANY PRESIDENT IN HISTORY

by Jim Hoft

It’s Now Official – No President in US History has Cut More from the US Federal Debt for a Longer Period of Time than President Donald J. Trump.

President Trump now can claim the longest and largest decrease of US Federal Debt in US history.

When President Trump was inaugurated on January 20, 2017 the amount of US Federal Debt owed both externally and internally was over $19 Trillion at $19,947,304,555,212.  As of August 17th the amount of US Debt had decreased by more than $100 Billion to $19,845,188,460,167.


No President in US history has ever cut the amount of US Debt by this amount and no President has resided over a debt cut like this ever.

History buffs may say that this is incorrect because President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush oversaw US Debt cuts over a period of a few years after the Republican Congress led by House Speaker Newt Gingrich forced Clinton into signing a balanced budget.  We thought the same, but our analysis determined that this is actually not correct.

Congress did push Clinton into signing a balanced budget but the amount of US debt during this period actually increased.  This is confirmed through data maintained by the US Treasury at Treasurydirect.gov.

The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) has performed audits since 1997 of the US Debt amounts outstanding.  In their analysis they show that when accounting for US Debt Held by the Public and US Intergovernmental Debt Holdings, the amount of US Debt has increased every year since their audits began.


The amount of US Debt Held by the Public decreased each year from 1999, 2000 and 2001 but the amount Intergovernmental Debt Holdings increased at larger amounts during this period.

The Treasury website does provide daily amounts of debt outstanding but this reporting only goes back to March 31, 2005. The Treasury does provide monthly amounts outstanding back through September 30, 2001 and annual amounts back through 1997.  The audited financial statement show the increase in US Debt annually from 1997 through 2016.


We know that no President has reduced the amount of US Debt for a longer period of time because no President has reduced the amount of US Debt since 1997.

A review of the amount of (unaudited) of US Debt outstanding back through the Civil War shows that the last time the US Federal Government had a debt decrease between years was when Republican Eisenhower was President in 1957 and 1958.  He cut the amount of US Debt by $2 Billion each year from $274 Billion in 1956 to $273 Billion in 1957 and again to $271 Billion in 1958.

No President besides President Donald Trump has cut the amount of US Debt by $100 Billion ever.


ONE NATION LOOKING UPWARD AT GODS GLORY

By TOM GILSON 
A crowd gathers in front of the Hollywood sign at the Griffith Observatory to watch the solar eclipse in Los Angeles on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
My wife said it well: “He probably thought it was cute.” Neither of us caught the NBC news reporter’s name, but we did hear how he signed off his report yesterday on people gathering for the Great Eclipse: “One nation indivisible — under one sun and moon.”

There’s something to be said for anything that will bring us all together. Grand events like the eclipse remind us of how much we have in common. We are indeed one nation, and may the sun and moon hold us together that way!

Not much chance of that, is there? The next eclipse is seven years away, and they sure don’t last very long when they do come. More to the point, we aren’t so much into astrology here.

I’m sure that NBC reporter isn’t either. It was a cute quip. There’d be no reason to make a big deal about it, except he missed a great chance to tell it the right way: “One nation under God, viewing His glory!”

The Glory of God on Display
Read Jay Richards’ series leading up to the eclipse here at The Stream, and you’ll see how this heavenly event points to a God in heaven. Yes, it’s a natural event, but it carries markers that point strongly toward an intelligently designed intention behind the “coincidences” that make its amazing features possible.

Whether we all knew it or not, we were looking up at the glory of God on display.

We were a nation looking upward yesterday. Sadly, I know this reporter never could have said we were looking at the glory of God on display; the network wouldn’t have allowed it, even if he’d wanted to.

The rest of us, though, can remember never to allow the moon, the sun or anything else to eclipse Him from our hearts and minds.


THE MEDIA'S GLARING DOUBLE STANDARD ON VIOLENCE & HATE

By MICHAEL BROWN

Protesters march with signs in Berkeley, California on February 1, 2017. Violent protests erupted on February 1 at the University of California at Berkeley over the scheduled appearance of a controversial editor of the conservative news website Breitbart.
So I don’t have to repeat myself throughout the article, I’ll say things loudly and clearly at the outset.

The KKK, white supremacists, and neo-Nazis are evil. I deplore what they stand for and denounce it — as a follower of Jesus, as a Jew, as an American, and as a human being. I pray that they would repent and find mercy from God. And to the extent that the media exposes their lies, I applaud the media.

But I cannot applaud the media when it comes to its reporting of acts of hatred and violence on the radical left. Their double-standard is glaring, ugly, and inexcusable.

You see, the question is not, “Is Antifa as bad as the KKK? Are radical leftists as evil as neo-Nazis?”

Rather, the question is, “Should the media highlight acts of hatred and violence when carried out by the left?” And, “Should the media call out political leaders who do not denounce these acts?”

I’m not talking about Charlottesville here or making a moral comparison between the groups involved. I’m talking about a consistent pattern of dangerous words and deeds from the radical left, most of which get scant attention from the media.

Shall we do some math?

Mobs ‘Exercising Brute Force’
Over the last 12 months, how many campuses have succumbed to pressure from white supremacists and cancelled a talk by a well-known liberal? Can’t think of any?

Well, let’s keep going. How many campuses have even received threats of harassment or disruption from white supremacists should they try to host such a talk? Still somewhere around zero?

In contrast, over the last 12 months, how many campuses have succumbed to pressure from radical leftists and cancelled a talk by a well-known conservative? If my memory serves me right, Berkeley did it twice (once with Milo and once with Ann Coulter). Other campuses, like De Paul, refused to allow Ben Shapiro to speak. And all this because of security concerns. That means: because of threats of disruption from the left. Toronto University just cancelled a “free speech” event featuring Prof. Jordan Peterson and others because of security concerns as well.

It looks like the left can get pretty nasty too. (For more examples, see here.)

Author Charles Murray, along with Prof. Allison Stangler, who invited him, was physically attacked by protesters at Middlebury College after his speech. “One threw a stop sign with a heavy concrete base in front of the car Murray was in, and several others rocked, pounded, and jumped on the vehicle. One protester pulled Stanger’s hair and injured her neck. She was taken to a hospital, where she was treated and released.”

Heather Mac Donald’s speech at Claremont was shut down. Protesters blocked entrance to the building, after which she said, “This is not just my loss of free speech. These students are exercising brute force against their fellow students to prevent them from hearing me live.”

And what were the protestors chanting? “[Expletive] the police, KKK.”

Where was the consistent outcry from the leftwing media? How many hours were devoted to covering this? How many liberal politicians were called on to denounce it?

Media Won’t Cover a Domestic Terror Group 
More recently, when protestors pulled down a Confederate statue in Durham, North Carolina, NPR reported that they were chanting, “‘No KKK, No Fascist USA.”

Actually, they were chanting, “No cops, no KKK, no fascist USA!”

Why did NPR omit “No cops”? What were they hiding? Why not make clear that, in the eyes of these vandals, the cops are no different than the KKK? (Listen to NPR’s audio here.)

As evil as the KKK and neo-Nazis are, they were not the ones carrying out these acts of hatred, violence, and vandalism. All this comes from the radical left. Why, then, put so much focus on the so-called alt-right and so little (if any) on the radical left?

Here are some more specifics.
.
As reported by the Daily Caller, “Antifa’s violence ranges from stabbing a police horse in the neck to beating people with bike locks. Antifa physically assaulted a reporter with The Daily Caller News Foundation in January. A search on YouTube reveals hours of footage displaying Antifa violence from protests across the nation. Antifa thugs are additionally known for assaulting police officers and chasing down fleeing people in order to beat them.”

How much of this was covered by CNN?

The Caller continues, “CNN also fails to mention that Antifa was declared a domestic terrorist group by New Jersey’s Office of Homeland Security and that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security stated certain actions from Antifa were acts of “domestic terrorism” in a memo from March.”

How many of you knew that? Antifa branded a domestic terrorist group by an official government security agency?

As for Antifa’s handiwork at Berkeley when Milo was scheduled to speak, “Antifa groups …  rioted, destroyed property, beat people with flagpoles and pepper-sprayed a women [sic].”

I guess it’s not all about peace and love and equality and tolerance?


Antifa Needs More Attention
And this is not just taking place in America. How about the attack last December on the Australia Christian Lobby building in Australia? As reported by the Australian, “The man accused of driving a burning van laden with gas bottles into the Australian Christian Lobby headquarters was a gay activist who disliked the group because of its ‘position on sexuality’ and had searched online how to make plastic explosives and a pressure-cooker bomb.”

Shades of Floyd Lee Corkins trying to carry out an act of mass murder at the FRC headquarters in DC in 2012, inspired to do so by the radical-left SPLC.

But it gets worse.

Both the Washington Post and the Nation carried pieces this week calling for physical violence against the alt-right, with the Post headline calling for “direct action” and the Nation headline reading, “Not Rights but Justice: It’s Time to Make Nazis Afraid Again.”

With this logic, even if the “Unite the Right” marchers in Charlottesville had not engaged in any violence, their ideologies are so evil that they should be violently attacked. Is this the America you want to live in?

And let’s not forget that, for years now, those of us who lovingly oppose LGBT activism have been branded Nazis, KKK, and worse. Perhaps we should be subject to violence too? Perhaps the gay activists who held up signs in 2008 calling for Christians to be thrown to the lions will get their wish?

Without a doubt, the media should report on something like the “Unite the Right” march that drew 500 militants to Charlottesville. And with one voice, every American should denounce it. Let those 500 be shamed and isolated, and let their ideology be exposed.

But the media should give equal attention to radical leftists who engage in violent words and acts in other settings. That includes Antifa activists vandalizing a campus, student protesters assaulting a professor, and Black Lives Matter marchers chanting (about cops), “Pigs in a blanket, fry ’em like bacon.”

If the leftwing media wants to regain even a shred of credibility, it will have to step up its game. Lives are at stake.


A LIST OF "HATE GROUPS" PUBLISHED BY CNN INSPIRED A TERRORIST ATTACK ON PRO-LIFERS

by Claire Chretien

CNN published a left-wing organization's list of "hate groups" that inspired the first incident of armed domestic terrorism in Washington, D.C. five years ago against a pro-life group.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the activists behind the "hate" list, lumps Christian lobby groups like the Family Research Council (FRC) and the legal giant Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which has argued and won numerous cases in the U.S. Supreme Court, in with the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis.

Its infamous "hate list" directed Floyd Lee Corkins to FRC's Washington office, where he shot a security guard and planned to massacre the group's staff. He told police he targeted FRC because the SPLC labeled them "anti-gay."

"This is CNN going utterly insane. They are serving as a platform for a radical left-wing hate group that exists solely to bash conservatives," Dan Gainor, Vice President of Business and Culture at the Media Research Center, told LifeSiteNews. 

"The CNN report has zero legitimacy. But it does serve to falsely label millions of conservatives as haters and may put them at risk as well."

"CNN and most if not all of the mainstream media are now doing what William Randolph [Hearst] did in the 1800s," Catherine Davis, Founder and President of The Restoration Project, told LifeSiteNews. "They are a propaganda machine operating to take America down from within. Like Hearst they are starting a war based a false narrative of race baiting and hate. This time, however, the war may destroy America if their yellow journalism is not stopped. We must resist this propaganda maneuver lest America fail."

The man who shot and severely wounded Rep. Steve Scalise, R-LA, in June "liked" the SPLC on Facebook. The SPLC put out a statement denouncing him after this was revealed.

"The CNN report has zero legitimacy. But it does serve to falsely label millions of conservatives as haters and may put them at risk as well."
FRC advocates for "a culture in which all human life is valued, families flourish, and religious liberty thrives." It defends a Christian view of marriage and opposes abortion and gender ideology.

The CNN article warned that the SPLC says there are 917 "hate groups operating in the US."

The CNN article equated "anti-LGBT groups" with racists. But many of the supposedly "anti-LGBT groups" it lists are mainstream pro-life and pro-family groups who advocate against abortion and in support of marriage.

Also smeared were the American College of Pediatricians, the Center for Family and Human Rights (CFAM), Traditional Values Coalition, Liberty Counsel, Americans for Truth about Homosexuality, the World Congress of Families, traditional Catholic newspaper The Remnant, Catholic religious order Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Catholic Family News, and the American Family Association.

These groups were listed alongside Holocaust deniers, the "Aryan strikeforce," the "Supreme White Alliance," and the American Nazi Party.

The American College of Pediatricians is "a national organization of pediatricians and other healthcare professionals dedicated to the health and well-being of children." It opposes transgendering young children and assisted suicide.

CFAM lobbies for the pro-life cause at the United Nations. Liberty Counsel is a Christian legal ministry.

"We believe every person is created in the image of God and should be treated with dignity and respect. We believe that discourse should be civil and respectful," Liberty Counsel's website explains. "We condemn violence and do not support any person or group that advocates or promotes violence. Some who disagree with the religious and moral values of Liberty Counsel have falsely called Liberty Counsel a so-called 'hate group.' This is false, defamatory, and dangerous. Liberty Counsel is not a 'hate group' and does not support or advocate 'hate' of any kind."

On Thursday afternoon, CNN changed its headline from "Here are all the active hate groups where you live" to "The Southern Poverty Law Center's list of hate groups."

"The headline on this story has been changed to more closely align with the content of the piece, which clearly indicates that the data on hate groups is from the Southern Poverty Law Center," an editor's note at the bottom says. "This story has also been updated to provide direct links to the full list from the SPLC as opposed to publishing the entire list here."

Marriage scholar Dr. Ryan T. Anderson blasted CNN for its "slander." The March for Life's Tom McClusky, who formerly worked for FRC, noted that the map CNN published is the same one that led to Corkins attempting to murder him and his co-workers.

BLACK CLERGY ACTIVISTS DEFEND TRUMP, CASTIGATE "ALT-LEFT

By Jack Davis

"Don't make our commander in chief a villain..." 

The deluge of liberal invective connecting President Donald Trump and his administration with the death of a woman protesting a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend has it “absolutely wrong,” a black minister said Monday.


Rev. Derek McCoy, executive vice president for the Center of Urban Renewal and Education, was among clergy who said claims by liberals and mainstream media that Trump has fostered a spirit of racism miss the point entirely.

“One thing you need to understand: You are saying that the president is the instigator, and I think that is absolutely wrong. No, it is not disingenuous,” said McCoy.

“The president made his comments and we are not standing up here to say that we are best friends with everything the president does, but he is in an office that we all respect … If we are looking about how we can move our country forward, we are trying to make sure that we do that collectively together.”

Some of those who gathered with McCoy at a National Press Club event said the problem is not the president but the media.

“Don’t make our commander in chief a villain when in actuality it is more the villainess (sic) of the media in terms of making something where nothing is,” said political activist Corrogan Vaughn.

Activist Star Parker, who founded CURE, said Trump’s initial statement condemning violence on both ends of the political spectrum was on target.

“I would like for us to finally address the ‘alt-right’ and the ‘alt-left’ — the instigators that continue this discussion that racism is so inherent in our society that they are going to look for it endlessly to then spark the tensions of the ‘alt-right.’ The ‘alt-right’ was sent underground. They have been emboldened because of the ‘alt-left,'” he said.

“We are either going to be biblical and free or we are going to be secular in status. That is the cultural war. There is no need in us denying that we are … in one,” Parker said. “It has been intensifying over time and now it is coming to a culmination that can drag each and every one of us into another civil war. We don’t want that, and the clergy will stand up and support the president in his effort to make sure that we have this discussion and we have it civilly.”

Some speakers said efforts to stifle free speech have come back to haunt America.

“We are saying, ‘You can only have one thought process and that is the only thing that can be allowed within the spectrum of our country.’ I think that is wrong,” McCoy said. “So you do have this ‘alt-left,’ ‘alt-right’ and these factions in society that are happening. But you gotta understand, debate is being shut down and debate is something that has always been on the foundational principles of America, where we can foster, flourish and grow together and learn from each other.”

William Allen, a professor of political philosophy at Michigan State University, said the factors at work behind the violence had nothing to do with Trump.

“I will say this about the repeated ascription of President Trump as the driver of hateful speech in our country: There are two things wrong with that view. The first thing wrong with it is we are pretending to hide behind blaming President Trump for our failures,” he said.

Instead, he said, efforts to suppress unwelcome speech have increased. He noted the contrast between 2017 and 1977, when the American Civil Liberties Union defended the right of Nazi supporters to march through the heavily Jewish community of Skokie, Illinois.

“We are no longer celebrating the ‘Skokie principle’ in our country,” Allen said. “We stopped celebrating the ‘Skokie principle’ long before Donald Trump announced his candidacy for the presidency.”

“If we have a problem, the problem is that we have lost our way. We have people that are wandering in the desert … who have lost their way,” Allen said. “It is not going to do you much good to blame Moses.

“You gotta ask: ‘Why have the people lost their way, where did they lose their faith and how can it be restored?'”



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"Don't make our commander in chief a villain..."By Jack Davis