Banks Mortgage Away Kids for LGBT Cause
What kind of people would kick needy kids out of good schools? Big Business, that’s who. In Florida, companies like Wells Fargo and Fifth Third Bank are dropping out of a scholarship program — all because some of the private schools have religious beliefs. Apparently, these CEOs think the LGBT agenda is more important than giving low-income kids the chance to succeed. Unfortunately for them, most parents across the state disagree — and aren’t about to let the vouchers go quietly.
What kind of people would kick needy kids out of good schools? Big Business, that’s who. In Florida, companies like Wells Fargo and Fifth Third Bank are dropping out of a scholarship program — all because some of the private schools have religious beliefs. Apparently, these CEOs think the LGBT agenda is more important than giving low-income kids the chance to succeed. Unfortunately for them, most parents across the state disagree — and aren’t about to let the vouchers go quietly.
At a rally this week in Tallahassee, pastors had strong words for anyone — bankers or otherwise — who would sacrifice poor children on the altar of radical sexual politics. “I see people who claim to be fighting for social justice who don’t even blink at the thought of using low-income children … as pawns,” Rev. H.K. Matthews thundered into the crowd. Almost 109,000 students take advantage of the program that Wells Fargo and Fifth Third would cripple over their ridiculous demands for “inclusion.” Demands, Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) pointed out on "Washington Watch,“ that show where their true priorities are.
This program, Senator Rubio said, has become "very personal to me… I now know dozens and dozens of families that have benefited from it.” The idea that the rug would be yanked out from under them, just because a school believes what the Bible says about gender and sexuality, is an absolute outrage. “How it works is: you’re low income family. It gives you the opportunity — not just to take them out of a school you don’t like — but to put them into a learning environment that’s going to provide them opportunities for courses and to be around an educational environment they would never have the chance to go to if they didn’t make a lot of money. And I’ve seen some of these kids that used a scholarship and graduate go on to the Naval Academy, to West Point, to Harvard, to some of the best institutions in the country. They never would have been able to have those opportunities that came from going with those schools.”
“Now here comes Wells Fargo, this great beacon of morality,” he says sarcastically, “who’s been caught just a few years ago fraudulently opening up accounts, savings accounts, checking accounts on behalf of their clients so they can charge them fees and all that. And here they come now basically saying, ‘We’re no longer going to donate to the program because we don’t like the fact that some religious schools [have] policies that align with the doctrine of the church…” Of course, they call these “anti-LGBT policies,” when in reality, they’re just affirmations of biblical teaching on sex and marriage.
And guess what, Senator Rubio asked? If a student doesn’t want to take the scholarship and go to a school with those beliefs, they don’t have to. The parents choose which school they go to. So it’s not as if these beliefs are being forced down children’s throats. And yet, these two banks — along with a chorus of Democrats in the legislature — are willing to destroy these students’ futures over it.
“What really sets me off,” Senator Rubio fumed, “is [that what they did] is not going to hurt those schools. Those schools are not going to abandon the Bible over a government program if they existed before this program… [W]ho they’re hurting are low-income kids, because they’re not going to be able to go to these schools [if they don’t get the funding.] …There are kids [who] may lose their scholarship [next year], [who] may be told, ‘You can no longer attend the school you’re attending… because we don’t have enough money this year for you because we lost two donors.’ So it’s just a reminder that what you often see now in corporate America is that they believe they can buy themselves into the good graces of broader society or cover [up for their scandals] by [caving] to some pressure and bullying from radicals on the Left.”
It’s an astonishing statement by Big Business that they’re willing to sentence thousands of children to lives of poverty to cater to the .6 percent. That’s disgraceful, especially at a time in this country when the test scores in our public schools are declining — and the performance gap is widening. Programs like Florida’s matter to kids where education is the only lifeline. Former Secretary of Education Bill Bennett and I talked about this extensively late last year. For families who don’t have the money to pull their kids out of public school, these programs are a way for children to rise above their circumstances and find success.
As President Trump said Tuesday night in the State of the Union, “No parent should be forced to send their children to a failing government school.” If the executives at Wells Fargo and Fifth Third really cared about inclusion, they’d give every Florida student the opportunities their own children have. Instead, they’re putting their sons and daughters in elite schools, and then turning around and locking less fortunate children out — all to score “wokeness points” on this phony crusade against “hate.” Obviously, Big Business (like the Left) doesn’t care who they hurt, as long as it appeases the radical mob.
Originally published here.
Trump Lets Her Rip at SOTU
It was not the speech of a man who’d endured months of political harassment. It wasn’t the performance of a president “shamed and cowed by impeachment.” It was the message of leader who’s beaten the odds — and, for three years, helped Americans do the same. Tuesday night's State of the Union was classic, confident, unconventional Trump — a powerful reminder, in a chamber bent on his destruction, that this administration’s successes are personal for every one of us.
From the military wife stunned by the return of her husband to the tearful parents holding a photo of Kayla Mueller, Tuesday night’s speech was a trip through America’s stories. We celebrated the miracle of Ellie Schneider’s survival and cried with Army widow, Kelli Hake. We saluted an American treasure on his World War II promotion — and rose to our feet when the hope of Venezuela united in our call for freedom. Together, they were the pages of Trump’s first term, the illustrations of a three-year comeback Democrats tried glumly to ignore.
In a week where his opponents are still waiting for results, President Trump spent an hour and a half outlining his. “Jobs are booming, incomes are soaring, poverty is plummeting, crime is falling, confidence is surging, and our country is thriving and highly respected again. America’s enemies are on the run, America’s fortunes are on the rise, and America’s future is blazing bright… [O]ur economy is the best it has ever been. Our military is completely rebuilt, with its power being unmatched anywhere in the world — and it’s not even close. Our borders are secure. Our families are flourishing. Our values are renewed. Our pride is restored. And for all of these reasons, I say to the people of our great country and to the members of Congress: The state of our Union is stronger than ever before.”
For Democrats who couldn’t even put together a successful caucus, CNN’s Stephen Collinson argued, it was a “daunting warning.” This president is an “effective, relentless political communicator.” But more importantly, he pointed out, Trump has solidified his reputation as a “rare politician who keeps his promises.” He’s taken risks, Collinson insists, that other leaders would have spurned. And, to the horror of the Left, they’ve paid off. Despite impeachment, a hostile media, and a classless resistance movement, this president is enjoying his highest approval ratings yet. It’s no wonder Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) finally lost it after sitting through his most compelling case for reelection yet.
When the speaker stood and ripped up a copy of the speech in disgust, her distress, Michael Goodwin writes, was somewhat “understandable.” The speech was masterful, and she knew it. It was long, “because he had a long list of accomplishments to cite.” Her only real weapon is “her personal hatred of the commander-in-chief. [And] it’s not proving to be much of a fight. The president is on a winning streak… [and] the country has noticed. She has overplayed her hand… and led her party into another embarrassing dead end.”
The unfortunate reality for Pelosi, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said later, is that she can rip up the speech, but she can’t tear up the accomplishments. Things like protecting life, confirming judges, defending freedom, encouraging faith, and standing for the persecuted. “With every action,” the president stressed, “my administration is restoring the rule of law and reasserting the culture of American freedom.” In this country, he insisted, “We do not punish prayer. We do not tear down crosses. We do not ban symbols of faith. We do not muzzle preachers and pastors. In America, we celebrate faith. We cherish religion. We lift our voices in prayer, and we raise our sights to the Glory of God!”
A God, the president pointed out later, who creates us in His image. Looking up at Ellie in the galley, a sweet, yawning two-year-old, the president marveled that she had been born prematurely at 21 weeks and survived. It was a seamless reminder, as Mollie Hemmingway noted, that “children like Ellie are born at a time when it’s legal to kill them in utero.” Ellie, the president said, like every child, “is a miracle of God… That is why I’m also calling upon members of Congress here tonight to pass legislation finally banning the late-term abortion of babies. Whether we are Republican, Democrat, or independent, surely we must all agree that every human life is a sacred gift from God.”
It was a poignant moment, one of many. And as much as others will try to distract or detract from what we saw, the people that matter went to bed Tuesday night believing what their president said was right. “Our spirit is still young, the sun is still rising, God’s grace is still shining, and, my fellow Americans, the best is yet to come.”
Originally published here.
Franklin Graham in the Spotlight
After being kicked out of a few U.K. venues over his faith, Rev. Franklin Graham joined "Washington Watch" Tuesday night to talk about his tour across the ocean and why his message is inclusive, not hateful. He also explains why President Trump’s record has made all the difference — not just for Christians here, but all around the world. You can hear that and more in our conversation below.
Originally published here.
This is a publication of the Family Research Council. Mr. Perkins is president of FRC.
