News Weakly - 1/4/2020

Another Double Standard
It feels like I need to have "Double Standard" as a regular feature for this News Weakly thing, because it seems to come up a lot. During the House impeachment hearings, folks from Trump's side attempted to refuse to comply with subpoenas for their testimonies. The Dems were outraged. "They're just trying to keep us from getting at the truth," they suggested. But when the possibility of a subpoena from the Senate for Joe Biden came up, he said he wouldn't comply. Why? Because it will let Trump off. How? Oh, no, you're not trying to keep the Senate (and the rest of the nation) from finding out the truth. That's only the Republicans that do that ... right? Yes, he walked that refusal back the next day. His turnaround wasn't less of a double standard. "I am just not going to pretend that there is any legal basis for Republican subpoenas for my testimony in the impeachment trial." But ... Mr. Biden ... isn't the question all about you?

Bad News
You probably heard about it. On Sunday a gunman stood up in a church in White Settlement, Texas, and opened fire. He killed two but was killed himself by a member of the church who was armed just for that reason. It's bad news for gun control fanatics. (I say "fanatics" to differentiate between the "Maybe we need some sort of regulations" and the "Take all the guns!" types.) There would have been far more dead if this man hadn't been armed. The police said the shooting ended in 6 seconds, far sooner than arriving police could have accomplished. On the side, I'm wondering. Is it significant that CNN thought an important element to this story was where White Settlement got its name? If you're curious, it was named that by indigenous people when white settlers moved into the area, so put aside any instant "White Supremacists!" knee-jerk reaction.

Safe Renewable Energy
A massive wind turbine installed in New York City fell down, destroying a billboard, a car, and other property. No one was injured. I know, bad things can happen, but there are those that argue that "wind energy is safe," thinking that it actually is. Not entirely.

The Latest in Law Enforcement -- Don't
A top U.N. official is complaining that Bradley Manning -- you might know him as Chelsea Manning -- is being tortured by the U.S. government. How? By jailing and fining him for contempt of court -- refusing to submit to a subpoena to testify in the WikiLeaks case. It's wrong, they're sure. Her lawyers have argued that being fined and jailed for refusing to comply with a grand jury is pointless, punitive, and cruel. The U.N. official calls it "deprivation of liberty." Got it. The right thing to do is not to fine or jail people who refuse to obey the law. We're clear now. Thanks, U.N.

Inclusive by Some Definition
American Girl makes dolls. Now they're making the first doll with a disability. This one will be hearing impaired. Because most dolls can hear just fine. They want to make dolls "more inclusive." (I'm fine with the concept, but couldn't anyone at all do that by simply telling the owner that the doll is disabled?)

In other "inclusive" news, Marvel is currently making a movie with a transgender character because they want Marvel to be more inclusive and diverse.

And in still other inclusive news, Netflix is producing a documentary to show what real Christians are like. Okay, just kidding. Let's not get carried away. The general public doesn't want to be that inclusive.

Heartwarming
Not all my News Weakly is aimed at the outrageous. In multiple stories this week, kindness made the news. In Ohio a Waffle House server and single mother of five was the recipient of a "flash tip" (my term). Multiple people gave her $100 tips, adding up to $800. One participant, Alan, said, "I just really prayed before I came ... that it would be a blessing for her." In Michigan a server was left with a $2,020 tip for a $23 meal. Recovering from recent homelessness, the woman was thoroughly grateful. And in one other story science is reporting that good deeds reduce pain and improve your health. And you always thought that God wanted us to do good just because He was a Cosmic Killjoy. Here's to your health.

Leading Cause of Death
According to Worldometers, an organization that keeps track of a whole bunch of worldwide statistics, as of December 31, 2019, more than 42 million babies had been killed by abortion in 2019. That is more than twice the worldwide deaths from cancer, smoking, alcohol, traffic accidents, malaria, and HIV/AIDS combined. It's not just about "women's choice."

All Very Confusing
So, the UK keeps making news because they couldn't care less about your religious freedoms. You will knuckle under to their popular thinking even if it savages your religious beliefs. Unless, apparently, you fall under "ethical veganism." A vegan who claims that his veganism is, essentially, a religion (a "philosophical belief"), complained because he believed he was fired for his "religious beliefs." His employer claimed it was for gross misconduct. The court ruled that ethical veganism is protected by the Equality Act (but, say, Christian beliefs are not). "'Religion or belief' is one of nine 'protected characteristics' covered by the Equality Act 2010," the story says. As long as your "religion or belief" doesn't cause you to use the wrong pronoun or suggest that biological sex cannot be changed, I guess.

Distraction
So, the president ordered a drone strike that killed the Iranian general leading attacks against Americans in Iraq. The Democrats are miffed. Trump shouldn't be killing terrorist leaders, apparently. Most interesting was Ilhan Omar's take. Trump is probably trying to distract us from the impeachment proceedings. Really? The proceedings that the House has blocked because they aren't confident that the Senate will rule the same way the House did? The proceedings that Pelosi has held up until she's confident the Senate will be "fair"? The proceedings ... that aren't happening because of the House? Maybe the House needs the distraction. Maybe Omar's tweet was a "thank you."

Many a Truth is Said in Jest
The Babylon Bee is a Christian satire site, but sometimes its headlines are pointed at Christians. Like this headline in the wake of the Trump impeachment proceedings: "Nation's Christians Wish God Had Given Them Some Kind Of Unimpeachable, Incorruptible Leader To Follow." In case you missed it, Christians, He did. If your faith is in Trump (or Bernie or ...), you're missing it.