Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held his Congressional audience spellbound Wednesday, evoking parallels between his nation’s plight and America’s experiences at Pearl Harbor and on 9/11.

Then he went further and recalled for his global audience seeing Mt. Rushmore, “the faces of your prominent presidents, those who laid the foundation of the United States of America … democracy, independence, freedom … we in Ukraine want the same for our people.”

Meanwhile, back in South Dakota, the Biden National Park Service (NPS) chose on Tuesday to announce that the famous memorial would once again be closed to fireworks this July 4. The reasons were similar to those the NPS cited last year — a fear of starting fires due to drought in the area and the concerns of tribal leaders over the land’s historical provenance.

Call me skeptical, I have a feeling the Biden people were moved not by the pleas of indigenous people, but by the members of the Squad “tribe” and the progressive left who scorn American history. To these leftists, the four faces carved on Mt. Rushmore are nothing more than tributes to white supremacy. They want these heroes erased from history textbooks and honored no more.

Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota denounced the closure and is pursuing a lawsuit in the United States Eighth Circuit to overturn the ban. Congressional Democrats cheer Zelenskyy, but I won’t be holding my breath waiting for their amicus brief defending the July 4 celebration at this historic site dear to Americans. The mere thought of Donald Trump’s massive rally there in 2020 still gives them conniptions.

Not so long ago Democratic presidents, like their GOP counterparts, dreamed of being on Mt. Rushmore. Now it seems like they want no one there.

Don’t Say the Truth

Gov. Ron DeSantis is probably used to it by now, but he continues to be the object of rage and raving from liberal politicians and cultural icons.

This week the President of the Disney Corporation, which once confined itself to child-oriented and adventure-themed entertainments like Davy Crockett, Snow White, and Cinderella, attacked DeSantis over his intention to sign a measure LGBTQ+ forces have labeled the “don’t say gay” bill.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced that the company is giving $5 million to the radical Human Rights Campaign Fund. He also said that Disney is suspending its donations to Florida politicos because of the controversy.

There may be some value in getting Disney and its corporate values out of political finance, but the hypocrisy of it all is what’s really galling. Disney has no problem pocketing proceeds from the earnings of parents who associate it with endearing cartoons, dazzling colors, and musicals — then turning around and spending that money on a deliberately deceptive campaign against a bill a strong majority of parents support.

DeSantis wasn’t fazed by an in-state corporate giant. “You have companies like a Disney that are gonna say and criticize parents’ rights, they’re gonna criticize the fact that we don’t want transgenderism in kindergarten and first grade classrooms,” he said. “If that’s the hill that they’re gonna die on, then how do they possibly explain lining their pockets with their relationship with the Communist Party of China?”

Chapek was just the tip of the spear. Apple’s Tim Cook said he opposes the bill and stands with “vulnerable youth.” The Washington Post, never late for the parade, claimed the bill “will hurt all children.” Saturday Night Live actress Kate MacKinnon used an SNL segment to condemn the bill and chant “gay, gay, gay.”

President Biden called the bill “hateful.” Taking his cue, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy was described as saying the bill was “hurtful to kids’ health.” Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona accused “leaders in Florida” of “prioritizing hateful bills.”

By now these criticisms are liberal boilerplate. Chapek and Cook and their coterie surely know what the bill prevents. It bars teacher-led discussions of homosexuality, gender fluidity, transgenderism, and related topics from kindergarten through 3rd grade. Even liberal comedian Bill Maher was affronted by the campaign against the bill: “Maybe kids that young shouldn’t be thinking about sex at all,” he said.

If you ever need conclusive evidence of the gap between the typical American, much less a typical parent, and the nation’s media and political power brokers, this is it. The Human Rights Campaign believes it is good to expose young children to pansexual propaganda like Julian is a Mermaid. They include the book in a K-3 curriculum guide and its author claims it’s fit for a preschooler. It’s the tale of a very young boy who longs, one review says, to be a “flowy haired, swishy-tailed mermaid.”

The DeSantis bill says this is not proper subject matter for children. Meanwhile in California, public school teachers were caught having a changing room at the school where kids could arrive in the clothing their parents gave them and change into the garb of the other sex.

Parents: Hold On To Your Kids, Stand Your Ground

A Morning Consult poll released Wednesday shows that Floridians support the bill by 51 to 35%. That margin should be larger and among parents it almost surely is. Chapek and company surely know the truth about this legislation. They know the difference between Mickey and Minnie.

Thirty years ago we warned about what was coming when gay activists protested that all they sought was tolerance. It’s manifest now that what they seek is desensitization of the youngest of children to a radical sexual agenda, and that this has always been the goal of their sponsors and funders.

Parents need to hold their ground, because the truth is that, as far as our nation has fallen, even more cliffs lie ahead and the victims will be our children.

Biden’s Radical Nominee

As you know, Joe Biden has nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to replace Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court. Her confirmation hearings are set to begin next week. Some voices on the right are suggesting that conservatives would be wise not to fight her confirmation. I disagree.

If confirmed, the 51 year-old Judge Jackson will be on the Supreme Court for decades, making critical decisions about our most fundamental values, including matters of life and death. This is a fight worth having!

Ketanji Brown Jackson is not a moderate. Before joining the bench, she was a “zealous advocate” for the jihadists detained at Guantanamo Bay. She thought the criminal justice system was too hard on sex offenders, but she’s no advocate of free speech for pro-life activists.

That’s not surprising given the left-wing groups that have praised her nomination.

The radical pro-abortion group NARAL is applauding Biden’s nomination of Judge Jackson, as is radical Squad member Rep. Cori Bush. The anti-religious bigots at Americans United for the Separation of Church and State are thrilled with Judge Jackson.

The far-left group Demand Justice, which waged a pressure campaign to force Justice Breyer off the bench, is pleased with her nomination, too. The radicals at People for the American Way “celebrated” her nomination.

If these radical left-wing groups are happy with her nomination to the Supreme Court, that tells you everything you need to know. She will be a far-left activist. Indeed, NBC News declared that “Jackson fits well with the Democratic Party and the progressive movement’s agenda.”

And she will be advancing that agenda on the Supreme Court. In fact, she may even support a major demand of the left — packing the Supreme Court with more liberal activists.

Noting that liberal Justices Ginsburg and Breyer opposed that extreme idea, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell pressed Judge Jackson on what she thought about it, and she refused to answer.

It’s likely that Judge Jackson will be confirmed, but there’s no guarantee. The Senate is split 50/50. If Republicans stand together, some Democrats from moderate states will be hard-pressed to confirm a justice who is against religious liberty, against the sanctity of life, against the Second Amendment and against the victims of criminal thugs. But Senate conservatives will have to make it a real fight by exposing her radical record.