Columnist.
What Clinton is doing is not all that different than what Obama did in 2007.
New York Knicks center Joakim Noah makes his living by dribbling a basketball. The cadets at the U.S. Military Academy make their living by protecting a nation that affords Mr. Noah the opportunity to dribble that basketball. So the decent thing to do would be for NBA stars like Mr. Noah to show a little gratitude for these brave young men and women. Instead, Mr. Noah disrespected the West Point cadets and demonstrated once again that an alarming number of professional athletes hold our nation in contempt.
In 2013, a small family bakery in Northwestern Oregon refused to make a cake for a lesbian wedding. The owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa had no idea that their decision to follow the teachings of their Christian faith would lead to a multi-year legal battle. It's a battle still being waged. Aaron and Melissa Klein were eventually punished by the state of Oregon — fined $135,000 dollars for refusing to participate in the lesbian wedding event. It was the price they had to pay for refusing to violate their conscience.
When future generations read about the "Great Gender Pronoun Wars" of the early 21st century, they will most certainly learn of Grant Strobl, a noble and mighty king. "His Majesty" is an unlikely title for a 21-year-old political science major from Grosse Pointe, Michigan. "It was definitely activism by accident," he told me. In less than 24 hours, the brave conservative single-handedly defeated an army of gender-neutral activists at the University of Michigan. Think David versus a gender-confused Goliath. The University of Michigan recently announced a new initiative to allow students to select their preferred gender pronouns through an online service.
Last December the Florida High School Athletic Association refused to allow a private Christian school to deliver a pregame prayer over a loudspeaker before a championship football game. On Sept. 27 Cambridge Christian School filed a federal lawsuit alleging the FHSAA unlawfully censored the prayer and violated the players' religious freedoms. "This is a case about the restriction of a Christian school's private speech through a policy and a practice that discriminates between religious and secular speech," attorney Adam Foslid, with the law firm of Greenberg Traurig, said in a prepared statement. First Liberty Institute is also representing the Christian school. The case stems from a Dec. 4th game between Cambridge Christian and University Christian School. The game was played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.
Disgraced NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick was on hand.
Three Walmart workers in McDonough, Georgia, refused to decorate a "thin blue line" cake for a police officer's retirement party because they said it was racist. A number of my Georgia readers alerted me to the story and on Saturday night I spoke directly with the police officer's daughter. She asked that I not divulge her name and I've agreed to honor her request. "I was so shocked," she told me. "I didn't know what to do or say or anything. I was trying not to lose my temper or make a scene." For the record, Walmart has confessed that most of her allegations are true. I'll have more on that a bit later in this column. The police officer's daughter went to the Walmart on Willow Drive on Sept. 22 to order a flag for her father's retirement party. He was leaving the force after 25 years on the job.
Instead of parsing participles, a public high school English teacher has been using her classroom to wage an ugly propaganda campaign against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his supporters. "Basically, the only people who seem to be safe from this guy are white Christian males," the teacher said in a classroom discussion recorded by a student. "Am I missing anything? Oh, American — white, Christian, male Americans." The unidentified teacher at North Carolina's Cedar Ridge High School even made students watch speeches delivered by Hitler and had them compare them to speeches that Trump had delivered, outraged parents tell me.
Alex Dunn is Captain America. The 16-year-old junior at Massey Hill Classical High School in Fayetteville, North Carolina, is a red, white and blue patriot who loves America. And he especially loves the American flag. "I have a father in the military who taught me the way to respect the flag," Alex told me. When he saw that his teacher was desecrating the flag during a classroom discussion on Monday, the teenager knew he had to do something. And what he did has patriots across the fruited plain cheering.
A North Carolina history teacher is facing a firestorm of controversy after he allegedly stomped on a U.S. flag inside a public school classroom. The incident happened Monday at Massey Hill Classical high School in Fayetteville, home to Fort Bragg and one of the most patriotic communities in the nation. "What that teacher did was a gut punch to all the military kids at that school," one outraged parent told me. "More so to the ones with deployed parents and unforgivably so to Gold Star kids who lost a parent who fought under that flag. It is indefensible." A spokesperson for Cumberland County Superintendent Frank Till Jr. told me they are investigating the allegations and will not comment until the probe is completed. "Clearly there are other ways to teach First Amendment rights without desecrating a flag," the superintendent said in a statement to television station WRAL.
There's been a legal setback for Joe Kennedy, the high school football coach who lost his job after he refused to stop praying at midfield after football games. U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton declined to issue a preliminary injunction that would have forced the Bremerton School District in Washington state to rehire Coach Joe while his case is litigated. The former coach is suing the district, claiming it violated his religious rights. First Liberty Institute, one of the nation's most prominent religious liberty law firms, is handling the case. Attorney Michael Berry tells me they are disappointed in what he described as a temporary setback.
It's become clear that the NFL has an infestation of anti-Americanism.
Who does Hillary Clinton find more deplorable — the Islamic radicals or Donald Trump supporters? I read a transcript of her remarks on Sept. 19th in the aftermath of the terror attacks in Minnesota, New York and New Jersey — and to be honest, it's hard to tell. "We will defend our country and we will defeat the evil, twisted ideology of the terrorists," she declared. Notice that she condemned the ideology of the Muslims bad guys — but she did not actually condemn the Muslim bad guys. As a matter of fact, she carefully suggested that we not make any generalizations regarding Muslim-Americans.
This is a tale of two high school football coaches from Washington state. Both took a knee at a football game. Coach Joe Kennedy of Bremerton High School took a knee to pray to God. He was fired. Coach Joey Thomas of Garfield High School took a knee to protest America. He was praised. To be fair, both men coach in different school districts. So the rules on prayer and protest may vary, but it does demonstrate how public schools embrace anti-American sentiment while rejecting freedom of religion. Coach Thomas made national headlines over the weekend after he joined the entire high school football team in a protest during the national anthem.
Islamic radicals are once again waging jihad on American soil and President Obama is AWOL. There have been attacks in New York, New Jersey, Minnesota and a charity run for Marines. Among the victims: an eight-year-old child and a 15-year-old girl. And the only reason we're not talking about massive casualties is because of alert citizens and the incompetence of the jihadist. America is under siege, and yet our Commander-in-Chief remains strangely aloof. On Saturday night — just moments after the bombings — the president was bashing Donald Trump at the Congressional Black Caucus gala and cracking jokes about the Islamic State. The president was cracking jokes while New Yorkers were digging shrapnel out of their bodies. On Sunday he flew to New York City to attend a posh fundraiser for Hillary Clinton — less than a mile from where the Chelsea bomb exploded. He made no mention of the attack in his remarks to wealthy donors. And to my knowledge he made no hospital visits. The White House seems to be treating the horrific events of this past weekend as if it was simply a normal day in America.
I have the most exceptional readers in the world. When there is wrongdoing in their hometowns, they are the first to let me know — and we're proud to jump on those stories like a pit bull on a pork butt. The other day Lisa Erskine of Barnegat, New Jersey, alerted me to a bizarre story involving Islamic cleaning rituals and a second-grade class at Cecil S. Collins School. Yes, Islamic cleaning rituals. The Asbury Park Press reports that a second-grader came home with a health and hygiene worksheet that included references to hijabs and thawbs — clothing worn by religious Muslims. The worksheet also included a reference from the Koran: "Allah loves those who make themselves clean and pure."
A Michigan school district called the historic "Betsy Ross" flag a symbol of hate and profusely apologized after students displayed the flag at a recent high school football game. "To wave a historical version of our flag, that to some symbolizes exclusion and hate, injects hostility and confusion to an event where no one intended to do so," wrote Forest Hills Public Schools Superintendent Daniel Behm in a letter to parents. The controversy surrounding the 13-star flag erupted on Sept. 9th during a football game between predominantly white Forest Hills Central High School and predominantly black Ottawa Hills High School, MLive reports. Forest Hills students not only waved a "Betsy Ross" flag, but they also displayed a Donald Trump banner (behavior guaranteed to get you labeled deplorable).
The Diocese of Camden, New Jersey, has a message for high school football players: either respect the National Anthem or be prepared to ride the bench. Any player or coach for high school sports teams in the diocese who does not "demonstrate appropriate respect" during the Star-Spangled Banner will be subject to a two-game suspension, Philly.com reports. The Catholics are doing what the National Football League refuses to do. "Our schools are founded on the teaching of respect and honor; respect and honor for God, country and duly appointed authority," Supt. Mary Boyle wrote to Catholic high schools in the diocese. "The best approach is helping our young people understand that blood was sacrificed so that we all can enjoy the gifts of our faith and our country."
The issue is whether Obama is proud to be an American.
The top general at the U.S. Military Academy said Army's head football coach "crossed the line" with a post-game locker room prayer and admitted that critics had "valid concerns" about constitutional violations. "It creates an atmosphere where it is expected from everybody to say a prayer regardless of their faith or no faith," Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen told The Washington Post in an exclusive interview. The controversy arose after Coach Jeff Monken asked a staff assistant to lead the football team in a prayer after their upset victory over Temple University. It was first reported by Army Times. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation filed a complaint over the post-game petition to the Almighty. They alleged that 90 West Point graduates, staff members and football players were apparently horrified that young men were praying in a locker room.
