Good news is tough to come by at the Pentagon these days. But good news is exactly what Army Sergeant First Class Charles Martland got this week when Army officials made a surprise announcement: they’ve decided to reinstate the decorated Green Beret. A hero by record and reputation, Sgt. Martland lost his career over something that any parent or decent American would have done — intervene in an ongoing rape of an innocent Afghani boy.

When Martland confronted the attacker (a member of the local police), the rapist laughed off the soldier’s horror, insisting it was “just a boy.” Shocked and outraged, the Sergeant and a fellow Green Beret said they felt a “moral obligation to act.” With a few shoves and kicks, he made it clear that tying up little children to posts and raping them for up to two weeks at a time would no longer be tolerated by the American force. Like most soldiers, they were sick and tired of standing by while Afghans tortured local children and undermined everything the U.S. was trying to accomplish through the police presence.

But in the Obama military where everything is upside down, no good deed goes unpunished — and Martland was kicked out of the Army. The brass accused him of “demonstrating poor judgment.” But if anyone was demonstrating poor judgment, it was the officers ousting him! After several attempts to fight the ruling, the two-time Bronze Star winner enlisted the help of Representative (and Marine) Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) — who helped ignite a national firestorm over Martland’s ouster.

Everyone from veterans groups to conservative congressmen protested the decision — insisting that Martland didn’t deserve punishment, but promotion. They’re right. When the Army is unable to meet recruitment goals and retention rates slip, combined with high suicide rates and near historically low morale, not to mention its own sexual assault problems, we need more good soldiers — not less! The news that Charles Martland could be discharged for doing what our soldiers were taught — protecting the vulnerable — stunned and outraged Americans all across the country. More than 130,000 of them signed on to petitions that FRC delivered to the chairmen of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees demanding that they lean on the Army to reinstate the Sergeant and honor him for the stand he took. Finally, “the Army did the right thing and we won,” a pleased Rep. Hunter said [Thursday], “The American people, won.” For Martland, the relief at the end of this long and painful journey was palpable. “I am real thankful for being able to continue to serve,” he told reporters.

FRC’s own special forces general, Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin, applauded officials for doing the right thing. “The Army’s egregious initial plans to discharge Sgt. Martland over this incident were wholly misguided. It is an appalling wrong to tell our soldiers that they must ignore the sexual abuse of children and forever live with the memory of [their] screams. I am grateful the Army leadership came to its senses and is allowing Sgt. Martland to remain in the Army. We are also grateful to Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas)… for their efforts to revolve this injustice.” Thanks to you, too, for making your voices heard! What America needs is more men of conviction — not less.

Originally published here.

‘Popular Opinion’ Isn’t So Popular After All!

It’s not often that a liberal like Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) tells the truth — but when she does, it’s usually newsworthy! This week’s conversation on same-sex marriage was no exception. During a Thursday press conference, the House Minority Leader admitted what most conservatives have been arguing all along: that same-sex marriage isn’t nearly as popular as the Left insists it is. In a jaw-dropping admission, Pelosi said, “Another piece of our agenda was to promote marriage equality in our country. Legislatively, we couldn’t really succeed, but from the courts and the rest, and public opinion, of course, in the actual court and in the court of public opinion, that victory has been won.”

Together with the media, the Left did quite a snow job on Americans on the issue of marriage. Over time, they managed to create this phony impression of support — even when the ballot boxes and state laws told a different story. Now that they’ve accomplished what they couldn’t do in the legislature in the courts, they’re owning up to the fact that they had to force the redefinition of marriage on the country illegitimately. While Americans are processing that bombshell, the Left is already moving on to the next target: a genderless America.

Believe it or not, Pelosi made those comments at a press conference for the far-Left’s Equality Act, which is the most radical piece of sexual orientation, gender identity legislation ever introduced. It will make what’s been unfolding in Target bathrooms look like a Sunday school picnic. Under this bill, anyone who objects to any kind of liberal sexual or gender agenda on moral grounds would be severely punished. Religious liberty measures would almost cease to exist.

Of course, the president’s party has been trying to move legislation that would suffocate employers’ rights to run their workplace the way they see fit for years. Under its failed Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), profits give way to political correctness, as radicals impose their warped view of sexuality on every daycare, school administrator, and business across America. The Equality Act is so expansive it makes ENDA look like a conservative bill! Not only do Americans need to stand up to the purveyors of confusion like they have in North Carolina and Mississippi, we need to remember what is at stake in this presidential election — control of the courts. If the Left continues to fail legislatively, they will again turn to the courts to do their bidding.

Originally published here.

Target Takes Stock of Pushback

They’ve got targets on their bags — and now, their stock is a target too! After the U.S. retailer made “feelings” the only condition of their bathroom policy, the backlash has been fast and severe. To say that Americans oppose the policy is an understatement, as people flocked to AFA’s Boycott Target petition. Now, just a few weeks since the company made the announcement, more than one million people have pledged not to shop at the store until they change their policy. AFA’s Tim Wildmon was on “Washington Watch” with me earlier this week to talk about the petition and why he believes it’s shattered records. (Listen here starting at the 27-minute mark.)

“This is how people can fight back,” he said. While the rest of this agenda is being forced on America against its will, there is one weapon families still have: their wallets. And so far, they’re using them! In a stunning headline this morning, Target’s stock is plummeting. “In just a few short days,” Breitbart reports, “the company’s stock edged down from $83.98 per share on April 19 to roughly $81.33 in April 28. That’s a loss of $2.65 per share, which chops the company’s stock market value by $1.5 billion, down to $48.8 billion.” Once people realize that they can take action without fear of intimidation or retaliation — like this boycott — they are more than willing to express themselves. The Left can force people to do a lot of things, but ordering them to shop at their corporate allies isn’t one of them!

On this issue, liberals have severely miscalculated the feelings of the average American. They understand how unsafe and perverse these policies are. It’s one thing for a person to “feel” like a different gender at home — but it’s quite another for the government to put other Americans under duress until we celebrate those feelings in public. And where does it stop? As one parody pointed out, if a man “feels” like a woman, why can’t a young person “feel” older person to get a senior citizen discount? If society divorces itself from reality, there’s no limit to the lunacy! Thank goodness more Americans are waking up to the chaos on the horizon — before it’s too late!

Originally published here.