Phill Kline Commentary: Redefining America

We are witnessing a long-planned and allowed assault on three cornerstone rights necessary for the protection of individual liberty – the right to affiliate or assemble with persons of your choosing; the right to speech and thought, and the right to petition your government for changes or improvement.

Long-planned in that Marxist thought has merged with progressive-left action to undermine American institutions that once protected these rights – education, the church, and the family.

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Commentary: Abolishing Women, One Right at a Time

Does an 84 year-old Reagan appointee to the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming really believe that it is acceptable, morally or legally, for a man who claims he identifies as a woman to join a college sorority and intrude on all that entails?

Last year at the University of Wyoming, officers and graduating seniors bullied younger members of a national college sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma, into not objecting to the admission into their sorority and their sorority house of a person who not only was not a woman, but who also did not meet the academic standards of the sorority.

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Commentary: What Unions Don’t Want You to Know This Labor Day

A male doing electrical work with a ball cap and safety glasses on

This Labor Day, the Biden administration and Big Labor will no doubt tout the alleged successes of President Joe Biden’s “whole of government” push to increase unionization in the workplace and unions’ modest successes in breaking into a few big corporations. But those stories will also leave a lot out. They’ll leave out the side of the story that unions don’t want workers to know.

That side of the story includes the fact that unionization reached an all-time low of 10.1 percent in 2022 (and only 6.0 percent among private sector workers) as worker satisfaction reached an all-time high of 62.3 percent (according to The Conference Board’s measure, which began in 1987). It also includes the fact that while non-union wages increased by 24 percent over the past five years, union wages rose by less than 17 percent.

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Commentary: AI Is Coming for Art’s Soul

While AI-based technology has recently been used to summon deepfakes and create a disturbing outline for running a death camp, the ever-pervasive digital juggernaut has also been used to write books under the byline of well-known authors.

The Guardian recently reported five books appeared for sale on Amazon that were apparently written by author Jane Friedman. Only, they weren’t written by Friedman at all: They were written by AI. When Friedman submitted a claim to Amazon, Amazon said they would not remove the books because she had not trademarked her name.

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More than 3,500 Minors Underwent Transgender Surgeries in Five Years, Study Says

Transgender advocates repeatedly claim that minors only take “puberty-blocking” drugs or cross-sex hormones, but never undergo surgeries in an attempt to force their male or female bodies to resemble the opposite sex, yet a new study estimates that more than 3,000 minors underwent transgender surgeries in a five-year period, and more than 400 of them had their genitals removed.

The Journal of the American Medical Association published a study Wednesday estimating that 48,019 Americans underwent “gender-affirming surgeries” from 2016 to 2020, and 3,678 of them underwent surgery between ages 12 and 18.

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Coach at Center of Religious Supreme Court Victory Says He Has ‘A Lot of Angst’ About Returning to the Field

High School Assistant Coach Joe Kennedy said he’s nervous about returning to the football field Friday after winning a years-long battle in the Supreme Court in 2022 allowing him to pray on the field, according to an interview with the Associated Press.

Bremerton High School, located in Washington state, is having its opening game of the season and it will be the first time Kennedy has coached since 2015 after he was suspended by Bremerton School District (BSD) for refusing to stop praying on the field, according to the AP. Kennedy expressed that he was nervous about people’s expectations and the reaction to him praying after the game.

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Energy Sector Sees 88 Percent Increase in ‘Nonbinary’ Workers from Last Year

The number of people who identify as “nonbinary” in the energy workforce has skyrocketed by more than 88% since last year, according to data from the Department of Energy. 

The agency’s annual employment report (USEER), showed that last year, there were 22,723 individuals in the energy workforce who don’t identify as male or female (nonbinary). As of June 2023, that number had increased to 42,810—an 88.4% surge. 

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Governments Across America Spend Millions to Put Homeless in Hotels

In states like California, Colorado, Washington and Arizona, cities this summer are spending millions buying hotels and converting them to shelters for the homeless.

In Los Angeles, there is a ballot initiative in 2024 to require hotels to use vacant rooms to house homeless people besides paying customers. The American Hotel & Lodging Association has objected to the proposal.

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Chinese Parent Behind Company Building Michigan Battery Plants Employs 923 CCP Members

The Chinese parent company of Gotion Inc., which intends to build two electric battery plants in Michigan, employs 923 Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members, including its CEO, according to its 2022 ESG report.

The Fremont, California-based Gotion Inc. — which is “wholly owned and controlled” by Gotion High-Tech Power Energy Co., according to a Foreign Agents Registration Act filing — seeks to “invest $2.4 billion to construct two 550,000-square-foot production plants” for electric vehicle (EV) batteries in Big Rapids, Michigan, Fox News reported.

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Researchers Warn About Synthetic Opioids More Powerful than Fentanyl

Synthetic opioids estimated to be 10 times more potent than fentanyl are creeping into the illicit drug market in the U.S., according to new research. 

“Synthetic opioids, such as the fentanyl analog and nitazene drug class, are among the fastest growing types of opioids being detected in patients in the emergency department with illicit opioid overdose,” researchers warned in a paper published Tuesday in JAMA Network Open.

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Commentary: Saving the Environment from Environmentalists

The oceans director of Greenpeace told USA Today that groups attempting to link offshore wind to whale deaths are part of a “cynical disinformation campaign.”
–  Whale carcasses on Martha’s Vineyard fuel speculation about wind turbines, New Bedford Light, June 22, 2023

If you want to know just how far the environmentalist movement has fallen in recent years, the destruction of marine life off the coast of Massachusetts in 2023 provides a disgraceful example. Greenpeace, an organization that not only led the earliest vanguard of the modern environmental movement, but was specifically formed to save the world’s whales, is actively denying what is likely the most egregious massacre of whales by Americans in more than a century.

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Commentary: ‘The Thales Way’ Is the Book That Can Save American Education

Would you be interested in a book on reforming education by a man who created flourishing grade, middle, and high school charter schools, all with waiting lists today, found them too mired in government bureaucracy and so started 13 even more successful purely private campuses in 2007 — and who is willing to share his secrets of success with you?

In hiring young people for his large private business, Bob Luddy of Raleigh, North Carolina, ran head-long into the problem shared by other employers — namely, that many potential employees with a public-school education did not have the elemental skills required to hold jobs, some unable to understand basic logic or even to read.

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Illegal Migrants from Mexico Assault Northern Border Agent, Official Says

Three illegal migrants from Mexico assaulted a Border Patrol agent along the northern border on Aug. 20, according to an Instagram post from Swanton sector Chief Robert Garcia.

The three illegal migrants crossed the northern border from Canada illegally before assaulting the agent near Churubusco, New York, according to Garcia’s post. Border Patrol agents in the Swanton sector, which includes areas of New York, Vermont and New Hampshire have made more than 4,900 arrests of illegal migrants from 68 countries between October 2022 and July, amounting to more apprehensions than the last eight years combined in the region.

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More Than 1,600 Scientists, Nobel Laureates, Declare ‘Climate Emergency’ a Myth

A coalition of 1,609 scientists from around the world have signed a declaration stating “there is no climate emergency” and that they “strongly oppose the harmful and unrealistic net-zero CO2 policy” being pushed across the globe. The declaration does not deny the harmful effect of greenhouse gasses, but instead challenges the hysteria brought about by the narrative of imminent doom.

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Tennessee National Guard Troops Sent to Louisiana to Help Battle Its Largest Wildfire in History

A 12-person team from the Tennessee National Guard deployed to Louisiana to support state, county, and local emergency responders battling the Tiger Island wildfire burning in Beauregard Parish, the Tennessee Department of Military announced Monday.

Two UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters from Knoxville’s 1-230th Assault Helicopter Battalion were sent to the Pelican State equipped with a specialized bucket system called Bambi Buckets to deliver hundreds of gallons of water from the air to fight the wildfires.

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Commentary: The Specter of the Far Right and Its Hidden Asymmetry

“Aspecter is haunting Europe — the specter of communism. All the powers of old Europe have entered into a holy alliance to exorcise this specter,” is the first sentence of perhaps the most important political pamphlet in history — the Communist Manifesto of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. That famous sentence would still be relevant today only if we change one word, that is, if we remove the word communism and replace it with the “far right.”  

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As Americans’ Righteous Indignation Grows, Out-of-Touch Power Brokers Believe Their Coup Has Public Support

Looking at the multiple indictments against Trump, culminating in the former president’s humiliating arrest procedure in Fulton County, Georgia on August 24, some of us may feel dismayed by these highhanded actions. Both the Democrats and their allies in the Deep State and media are working, or so it seems, to create a one-party dictatorship, one in which the opposition party functions as an ineffectual check on the wielders of power.

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Commentary: America’s Moms Saw a True Leader on the GOP Debate Stage

Donald Trump’s decision to skip the first Republican primary debate left a huge vacuum on the stage in Milwaukee. That vacuum was filled by Vivek Ramaswamy, who showed poise, conviction, and grace under fire – in the process making most of his opponents look like the career politicians they are.

Like Trump, Ramaswamy is a businessman who feels called to run for office because he sees that the country is facing dark times and needs to be saved from the political establishment, which prioritizes self-interest and the status quo over patriotism and the sort of decisive action that our country needs.

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Commentary: Christianity and the Globalist Agenda

The power of these 10 words threatens the most powerful individuals and institutions on the planet, and what might otherwise be their total control over governments. These words express a principle that an authoritarian government cannot tolerate. They proclaim “Government is not the ultimate sovereign. God is the ultimate sovereign. And if you challenge my God and make me choose, I will obey God, and I will defy you.”

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Commentary: Searching for Truth and Excellence in Youth Literature and Movies

A couple of months ago, a friend of my wife and of mine, a young Italian priest, was visiting with us. Our conversation veered toward youth books and movies. Our friend lamented what he perceived as a lack of substance in contemporary books and movies for young people. He said that the books kids read and the movies they watch should reflect the truth and impel them toward right living and virtue, instead of simply mirroring the symptoms of a wounded culture. Perhaps my friend was onto something.

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Dramatic Video Shows Law Enforcement Clearing Nevada Highway Blockade, Arresting Climate Activists

A dramatic video recording of law enforcement officers ramming through climate activists’ blockade as they attempted to stop traffic surfaced on Sunday.

Climate activists blocked a road leading into the Burning Man festival in Nevada on Sunday, causing a massive traffic jam, according to multiple reports and to video footage of the incident shared on Twitter. Video footage shared on Twitter appeared to show Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribal Police vehicles smashing through their barricade, and a law enforcement officer drawing his gun and arresting the protesters.

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Poll: Nine in 10 Americans Worried About Fentanyl Overdose Deaths

Fentanyl

Nearly 90% of U.S. voters are concerned about fentanyl trafficking as drug overdose deaths continue to mount in the U.S. ahead of the 2024 election, according to a new poll. 

The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll, conducted by Noble Predictive Insights, found that 57% of those surveyed are very concerned about fentanyl overdose deaths. An additional 32% are somewhat worried, or 89% overall indicating some level of concern.

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Commentary: The Mugshot Heard ‘Round the World

Donald Trump’s historic arrest in Georgia Thursday evening was a virtual declaration of war on America. A former president was dragged into a filthy county jail behind enemy lines and had his mugshot taken, adding insult to the injury of an indictment for the bogus crime of challenging his political opponent. The dramatic moment followed days of buildup, as the “co-conspirators” in his “criminal enterprise” were methodically paraded in front of the country. These nefarious plotters include lawyers like John Eastman, a decent man whose “crime” is giving legal advice on a contentious constitutional question.

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Student Pilot Suffers Cardiac Arrest While Flying, Other Pilots Have Become Incapacitated or Had Cardiac Arrests This Year

Since the rollout of the COVID-19 injections, hundreds of U.S. pilots have reported adverse side effects, most often chest pains, myocarditis, and pericarditis. Since the beginning of this year, dozens of pilots have reportedly become incapacitated and, in many cases died before, during or after their flights. In at least ten of the cases, the pilots reportedly suffered cardiac arrests.

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Commentary: With Fewer than 1,500 Catholics in Mongolia, Pope Francis’ Upcoming Visit Brings Attention to the Long and Complex History of the Minority Religious Group

Pope Francis is set to make the first-ever visit to Mongolia, a country with fewer than 1,500 Catholics, all of whom have come to the faith since 1992. But the pope’s visit is a reminder that the country has a long and complex history with Christianity, among many other faiths.

Mongolia has only 3.4 million people, and at least 87.4% are Buddhists. The small Catholic community came into existence after this landlocked country, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, began to abandon its communist ideology and embraced different religions. At that time, it also restored diplomatic relations with the Vatican and welcomed Catholic missionaries.

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Christian Mother Fights for Right to Adopt After Refusing to Affirm Gender Transitions for Minors

Christian single mother Jessica Bates was “shocked” when Oregon denied her adoption application because she did not support medically transitioning children, she told the Daily Caller News Foundation in an interview.

Bates, a mother of five, was looking to adopt a “sibling pair” in 2022 six years after her husband died in a car accident, saying to the DCNF that she felt it was a “calling from God,” but after going through the application process, state officials with the Department of Human Services explained that she would need to agree to support any adopted child’s desire to have a gender transition. As a Christian, Bates told the DCNF that she knew this requirement was “denying reality” as well as her faith, and filed a lawsuit with Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) against the state in April after they reportedly prevented her from moving forward in the process.

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National Family Group Condemns American Medical Association’s ‘Ethics’ Journal’s Support for Taxpayer-Funded Uterus Transplants in Biological Men

The American Family Association (AFA) issued an alert Wednesday urging Americans to sign its petition that demands the American Medical Association (AMA) “do no harm” by ending its support for taxpayer-funded “unnatural and irreversible gender-modifying procedures,” such as uterus transplants from dead women for biological men in order to improve their “mental health.”

The petition, which, at the time of publication had collected over 25,000 signers, cites a paper, published in June, in AMA’s Journal of Ethics, that AFA asserts is “driven with political and social activism.”

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South Carolina Supreme Court Upholds State’s Pro-Life Heartbeat Bill

The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled Wednesday the state’s pro-life law that prohibits most abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected is constitutional and may be enforced.

“The Supreme Court’s ruling marks a historic moment in our state’s history and is the culmination of years of hard work and determination by so many in our state to ensure that the sanctity of life is protected,” said Governor Henry McMaster (R) in a statement. “With this victory, we protect the lives of countless unborn children and reaffirm South Carolina’s place as one of the most pro-life states in America.”

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Commentary: The Reason Why Tennessee’s Teachers Are Walking Away Starts in the Classroom

Every morning, Tennessee parents wave goodbye to their kids as they head to school. And every morning, teachers open their doors to receive over a million students. Educators are the lifeblood of our communities. Not only do they teach our children, but they also serve as role models and support systems, pouring their hearts into our kids. But increasingly, Tennessee’s teachers are no longer rewarded by their students with a smile, a “thank you,” or an apple on the desk, but instead with pepper spray and a punch to the gut. And when school boards and local leaders turn the other way, it’s no wonder why so many teachers are forced to walk away from their career and the students they love. 

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Judge Rules Michigan City Cannot Ban Catholic Farmer’s Market Vendor for Refusing to Host Same-Sex Weddings

A federal judge ruled Monday that the city of East Lansing, Michigan, cannot prohibit a local Catholic businessman from participating in a farmer’s market because it violates his faith beliefs to host same-sex weddings on his farm’s property.

In his opinion in Country Mill Farms, LLC v. City of East Lansing, Judge Paul Maloney of U.S. District Court Western District of Michigan, Southern Division, ruled, “The City has not established that the decision to deny CMF [Country Mill Farms] a vendor license is narrowly tailored to meet a compelling government interest.”

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Court Rules Alabama Can Enforce Ban on Transgender Medical Treatments for Minors

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit unanimously reversed a district court’s temporary halt to enforcement of an Alabama law that prohibits minors from obtaining puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and transgender surgeries for treating gender dysphoria.

In Eknes-Tucker v. Marshall, the appeals court on Monday rejected the plaintiffs’ arguments, described in the opinion as “a group of transgender minors, their parents, and other concerned individuals” who challenged the constitutionality of Alabama’s Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act.

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Commentary: American Self-Government Is Falling Apart

The American system does not require unanimity. In fact, its design presumes deep disagreement on matters of morality and policy.

This is why questions like religion are left to individual conscience, and why most policy is left to states or even smaller units, where the law’s touch will not be felt as harshly, because it reflects the more similar values of a smaller group. Finally, regardless of who has the reins of the federal government, the Constitution renders a great deal of substantive activity off limits, as exemplified by the Bill of Rights.

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Commentary: The Left Uses Barriers to Advance Their Agenda

The subject of barriers came up in an unintentionally comical way a few weeks ago, during former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Paula Scanlon’s testimony before Congress.

As Campus Reform reported, Scanlon testified that she and her teammates were “forced to undress in the presence of a 6-4 biological male with fully intact male genitalia 18 times a week”—a reference, of course, to Will “Lia” Thomas.

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National Pro-Life Group Creates ‘Abortion Distortion’ Animated Videos to Confront Pro-Abortion Talking Points

The late founder of national pro-life organization Life Dynamics created his group’s new animated videos to serve as a tool for every pro-lifer, regardless of age, to help them engage with common pro-abortion talking points.

Pro-life leader Marcus “Mark” Crutcher, who died in March, wanted to address the issue of how to help pro-lifers engage in responding to common pro-abortion talking points, said a press statement Thursday announcing the release of Crutcher’s “Abortion Distortion” videos.

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Army Launches Second Phase of Brand Reboot Focused on ‘Relatability’

The Army released the second wave of promotional videos in its rebranding campaign Monday intended to boost its “relatability” to a diverse array of Americans amid persistent recruiting problems, according to Defense One.

The Army revived its 1980s slogan “Be All You Can Be” in March in hopes of attracting a new generation of future soldiers as recruiting fell 25 percent short of its goals in 2022 and is expected to mirror the shortfall in 2023. The “First Steps” series is meant to appeal to Gen Z’s desire for genuine engagement and emphasize knowledge, culture and trust, Ignatios Mavridis, the acting chief of Army Enterprise Marketing, told Defense One.

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Florida’s New College Enrolls More Students, Looks to Cut Gender Studies

A small public Florida college has rapidly transformed under Governor Ron DeSantis-appointed trustee board, as liberal faculty have resigned in large numbers, a gender studies major is slated for demolition and admissions numbers rise.

Conservative activist and journalist Christopher Rufo, who serves as a trustee of the New College of Florida, motioned at the latest board meeting to begin to dissolve the gender studies program.

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Arizona State University Course Using Taylor Swift to Teach Social Psychology

A new Arizona State University course is using Taylor Swift to show social psychology phenomena starting this fall semester. 

The class is called “Psychology of Taylor Swift – Advanced Topics of Social Psychology” but it won’t be a fan-club meeting for Swift, according to Alexandra Wormley, a PhD student in the psychology department who is teaching the class.

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