Columnist.
There's trouble brewing in Hidden Valley, America. The nation's most beloved salad dressing is under attack by a bunch of granola-eating, tree-hugging hipsters who forage artisanal beets sold on food trucks. Consider this recent headline from the pages of The Washington Post: "Ranch dressing is what's wrong with America." Columnist Ben Adler fired off an unhinged diatribe on America's favorite salad dressing, calling it "milk-rot" and warning that it could destroy Planet Earth.
The pastor of a Texas megachurch said he was stunned when a government agent stopped him at a TSA checkpoint so his Bible could be inspected. "I couldn't believe it. I literally couldn't believe it," said Gene Lingerfelt, the pastor of Faith Christian Center in Arlington, Texas. The pastor and his wife were on their way to Cancun for vacation when he was stopped Monday in the TSA Pre-Check line for a "bag check." Brief aside: Your friendly neighborhood columnist has TSA Pre-Check, too, and I can't tell you how many times I've been pulled aside for additional screening. So now we're literally getting charged to get manhandled by the TSA — although we do get to keep our shoes on. At first, the pastor was not terribly surprised by the disruption.
Students at the University of Texas in Austin have been advised not to wear cowboy boots or cowboy hats on Halloween. Telling a Texan not to wear cowboy boots is like telling Colonel Sanders not to fry chicken. Fraternities and Sororities were instructed to avoid Halloween party costumes and themes that might "appropriate another culture or experience," according to The College Fix. Students were issued a 29-point checklist to ensure they avoid any controversial or offensive trick or treat regalia.
A lay minister who is suing the Georgia Department of Public Health for religious discrimination has been directed by the state's attorney general to relinquish his sermons to the government, according to federal court documents. "Please produce a copy of your sermon notes and/or transcripts," Attorney General Samuel Olens wrote to attorneys representing Dr. Eric Walsh. Dr. Walsh said he will not comply with the request. "No government has the right to require a pastor to turn over his sermons," Walsh said. "I cannot and will not give up my sermons unless I am forced to do so."
Man up, America.
You probably know somebody like Jay Wells in your town. He's a hardworking family man. He goes to church on Sunday. He owns a small business. He's an all-around good guy. And he's also become a national symbol for the complete and utter failure of President Obama's Affordable Care Act. Mr. Wells, of Colquitt, Georgia, is facing a massive (and I do mean massive) increase in his monthly health insurance premiums, according to a letter he received from BlueCross BlueShield of Georgia. "Your current monthly premium is $711.83," read the letter. "Starting in January, your monthly premium will be $1,872.17." The sticker shock was shocking.
A patriotic, pre-game celebration honoring law enforcement and first responders at a high school football game has drawn the ire of the New Jersey chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. New Jersey's Middletown High School South saluted more than 100 police officers and military personnel on Oct. 21st. The celebration culminated with teenaged football players and police officers unfurling a massive American flag before singing the national anthem. "A star-spangled celebration" is how the Asbury Park Press described the festivities.
Every now and then a story crosses my desk that gets me riled up. This is one of those stories. The Los Angeles Times reports that as many as 10,000 soldiers who were given bonus money to reenlist have been ordered to repay the cash. During the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the California National Guard was faced with a manpower shortage. So it offered massive enlistment bonuses to entice soldiers to re-enlist. But now, a decade later, the Pentagon says it wants that money back — with interest. The Times reports that the California Guard mismanaged the bonuses and as many as 10 thousand soldiers received too much money. It was not an isolated problem. There are reports of bonus money mismanagement in all 50 states. Soldiers who refuse to repay the bonus money could face garnishments and tax liens.
If you believe the television pundits, Donald Trump is going to wage a one-man revolution if he loses the 2016 presidential election. That was the media's big takeaway from the third and final presidential debate in Las Vegas between Trump and Hillary Clinton. At issue was a question posed by moderator Chris Wallace regarding whether Trump would accept the election results. "I will tell you at the time," Trump replied. "I'll keep you in suspense. OK?" The mainstream media went apoplectic. They want you to believe that Trump is going to gallop down 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue on a white stallion leading a battalion of Minute Men armed with muskets and waving the Gadsden Flag.
Mikey Weinstein fired off a letter to a VA center on behalf of a disgruntled veteran.
My column about the college football player who stood alone to honor the national anthem while his teammates hid in their locker room really struck a chord with readers. I've been inundated with hundreds of emails and messages from across the fruited plain — all affirming their support of Connor Brewer, a football player at Millikin University. The football team had decided to stay inside the field house until the national anthem had concluded — a form of protest against Lord knows what. But Connor chose to do the right thing — the patriotic thing. I was especially touched by a poignant letter I received from a Gold Star mother, Debi Daniels.
My column about the Millikin University football player who stood alone to honor the national anthem struck a chord with our readers. I was especially moved by a letter I received from a legal immigrant from India. He asks a very important question in his letter. "I have not known any other country where some of the people desecrate their flag, disavow their national anthem or tear down their own country," he wrote. Read and ponder his words — and be glad this Indian-American is now one of our fellow countrymen.
Connor Brewer is fiercely loyal to his college football team. But he is also fiercely loyal to the United States of America. So when the Millikin University football team decided to protest the national anthem by remaining inside the locker room instead of on the sidelines, Connor was faced with a decision. Would he join his teammates in their university-approved safe space or would he stand on the sidelines and honor America? Connor chose to stand — alone.
For the past nine months Domagron, a family-owned business, has been selling "All Lives Matter" bumper stickers on Walmart's online marketplace. But on Oct. 11 the company received a notice from the nation's largest retailer that the bumper sticker had been removed from its marketplace. The notice implied that the bumper sticker had violated the company's "prohibited products" policy.
Some of Hillary Clinton's top campaign staff appears to hold a deep reservoir of contempt for Catholics and Evangelical Americans, according to the latest batch of WikiLeaks emails. The new revelations came from a 2011 email exchange between Campaign Chairman John Podesta, Communications Director Jennifer Palmiere and John Halpin from the Center for American Progress. The emails portrayed Conservative Catholicism as a "bastardization of the faith" and seemed to imply that Evangelicals are a bunch of impoverished country bumpkins.
The young men who attend St. John's Northwestern Military Academy in Wisconsin know the names of the fallen. Their names are recited every spring — young men, alumni, who gave their lives defending America. Jack Albert, the president of the military academy, believes the blood shed by his cadets make their campus sacred ground. So when Albert learned that some of the high schools in their athletic conference were allowing students to disrespect the national anthem, he decided to draw a line in the sand.
Here are my top ten takeaways from Sunday night's presidential WWE match at Washington University in St. Louis (viewer discretion advised): **1. Trump was loaded for bear.** We have a saying down in Dixie: Donald Trump shucked it to the cob. His campaign was teetering on the brink. Republicans have abandoned him in droves. And yet, he came out and delivered a solid performance. **2. Voters were more interested in Hillary's emails, not Trump's locker room talk.** Frank Luntz says his focus group gave Trump the win. As for the emails, he tweeted, "Trump's tape is bad for him, but Hillary's emails are even worse for her." Luntz went on to say Trump is back in the race. **3. This wasn't a town hall debate. It was a town hall ambush.** CNN's Anderson Cooper and ABC's Martha Raddatz, disgraced themselves and their networks by ganging up on Donald Trump. When the audience cheered for Trump, they were told to be quiet. But when they cheered for Hillary, the moderators were silent. "One on three" is how Trump described it.
The music of Third Day, Chris Tomlin, Toby Mac and other popular Christian artists is no longer welcome on public school buses in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. The school district recently directed a bus driver to refrain from playing a Christian radio station while transporting children, television station KFSM first reported. The edict was handed down after a complaint was filed by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Wisconsin-based assortment of perpetually offended atheists, agnostics, free-thinkers and other radical rabble rousers. The FFRF alleges it was contacted by a parent who objected to his child listening to contemporary Christian music on Bus 24. The driver had been listening to radio station KLRC, owned by John Brown University.
Jesus just got kicked out of public schools in Henry County, Georgia. The school district fired off a directive to school administrators ordering them to eradicate anything remotely religious from all public school buildings. One of my readers sent me a copy of the directive from the Henry County School District that was relayed to the staff at East Lake Elementary School. "You are hereby directed to remove all items which contain religious symbols, such as crosses, printed bibles, angels, bible verses, printed prayers, and biblical quotations from the common areas, hallways, classrooms, and office of East Lake Elementary School," the edict read. "Further…religious and biblical references should not be included in notes to parents, email signature lines, or any other correspondence sent on behalf of East Lake Elementary School," the edict continued.
To say the East Carolina University Marching Band struck a wrong chord with fans would be an understatement. Furious North Carolina football fans booed the band after several members refused to play the National Anthem while others took a knee. East Carolina's blatant disrespect of the Star-Spangled Banner happened Oct. 1st at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. Local reports indicate about a dozen members of the Marching Pirates disgraced themselves on the football field. At halftime, outraged fans got to have their say. The stadium was filled with booing as the band prepared to perform its halftime show.
