Like Button

Saturday, September 08, 2018

News Weakly - 9/8/18

Tell Me Again?
What they tell me is Science is king (or even god) and universities are bastions of Science, scholarly debate, and free inquiry. Tell me that again? That's not what I conclude when Brown University decides to censor its own study because it found that "social media and friends can influence teenagers to change their gender identity." I kid you not. The university has "heard from Brown community members expressing concerns that the conclusions of the study could be used to discredit efforts to support transgender youth and invalidate the perspectives of members of the transgender community." Really? Try that line elsewhere. "Community members are expressing concerns that the conclusions of the study could be used to discredit Evolution." Sure, that'll fly, right? No. Because in this case the perspectives of members of the transgender community trump science. I guess they got promoted to god now.

I'm Unclear
Back when that young team of soccer players were stuck in a cave, Elon Musk offered a little submarine to try to help. One of the actual rescuers on the site said it wouldn't help in this situation. Musk responded by calling him a paedophile. Now Musk has called him a "child rapist" in an email to a reporter. He offers no evidence; just accusation. So, I'm unclear on this. Does this qualify as slander or libel? Oh, and when will we see Musk in court for this? I'm waiting.

A Not-So-Hidden Agenda?
Brett Kavanaugh is in the midst of hearings as Supreme Court nominee. At the end of day one, Fred Guttenberg, a father of one of the shooting victims put out his hand to shake with Mr. Kavanaugh. Kavanaugh didn't. Oh, horrors!

Now, mind you, Guttenberg is on record as being opposed to Kavanaugh for Supreme Court because the judge is in favor of the 2nd Amendment ... you know, the Constitution ... which a Supreme Court justice is supposed to defend. Guttenberg has already declared publicly that Kavanaugh is a "risk to public safety." So, remind me, why would someone who is his enemy expect him to shake hands? Let me ask this a different way. What would make us think that Guttenberg's gesture was a genuine effort of reaching out to meet and greet the candidate rather than an attempt to twist his arm?

Color Me Surprised
You've heard, I assume, about the New York Times op-ed piece reportedly from a White House insider who is "part of the resistance inside the Trump administration." This person wrote, "We want the administration to succeed and think that many of its policies have already made America safer and more prosperous." That, of course, doesn't matter. What everyone is talking about -- what the New York Times decided to emphasize -- is the danger that Trump is to the nation. Fine. No one is surprised that mainstream media is radically and perpetually opposed to Trump.

The author of the piece said they were trying to thwart "Mr. Trump's more misguided impulses." Like this one -- the president is calling for the Justice Department to find out who wrote it. Mind you, no law was broken. Mind you, the author hoped for Trump to succeed. Mind you, the Justice Department is not the president's private investigation service for whatever he wants investigated. "And while you're at it, I want you to follow my wife around to make sure she's not cheating on me," would be wholly inappropriate. But, again, is anyone surprised that the president would respond this way? I'm certainly not.

Take That, Social Justice Warriors
First there was the Danvers Statement (1987). Then there was the Nashville Statement (2017). Now we have a new one -- the Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel. Is it controversial? Sure. Correct? I think so. Out of an abundance of caution over the distractions that the SJW types are bringing calling for "Social justice!" as a basic Christian requirement (over against -- actually against -- the Gospel, making disciples, teaching others to obey all that Christ commanded, etc.), John MacArthur and more have issued this statement to explain the truth on the subject. As of the writing of this report, there are nearly 5,000 signers.

Social Justice Explained
On the same subject, the Babylon Bee helps explain what Social Justice is. This piece seems less tongue-in-cheek than most of their work.

No comments: