Election Have Consequences, and Bad Elections Persecute Pro-Lifers

A pro-life group in North Carolina is expecting a hard battle as it seeks to continue its work outside a local abortion clinic.

In the November 7th mayoral election, voters in Charlotte, NC replaced Jennifer Roberts with another liberal mayor – Vi Lyles.  Lyles may be just as committed to abortion as the former mayor was.  [Roberts never approved of pro-life volunteers at abortion clinics.]

As part of its local efforts, Cities4Life in Charlotte parks a mobile ultrasound unit in front of an abortion clinic to offer pregnant women free services.  But ministry leaders fully expect Mayor-elect Lyles to press the city council to restrict their access.  Daniel Parks, who heads Cities4Life, said the unit is parked on a wide city street, and it creates no traffic problems; yet, he is prepared to fight a legal battle related to parking of the ultrasound unit, as well as their freedom of speech.

Parks says, “The liberal agenda [is] not really concerned about the women, and [it] most certainly [is] not concerned about the babies.  But the liberal agenda is concerned about itself.  And the radical pro-abortion agenda in Charlotte doesn’t want to lose any of those potential clients that we’re actually taking from them, by God’s grace.”

According to Parks, their measure of success is approximately 3,700 babies saved in Charlotte.  At an estimated $300-$1,700 for each first-trimester abortion, that success has been costly for local abortion clinics.

How sad that money talks at the price of silencing the unborn.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Christians in U.S. Armed Forces Moving From Previous Persecution to Presidential Permission to ‘Live Their Faith’

Retired Lt. General Jerry Boykin, one of the founding members of the elite military division Delta Force, recently told CBN News the best way to honor servicemen and women is through prayer.  “Every soldier, sailor, airman, marine, coast guardsman needs our prayers,” he said, “So the best we can do for them is pray an earnest, sincere prayer for God’s protection over them as they go about doing their job.”

Boykin said, “Find a veteran and thank them.  You can never overdo that.  You don’t know how much it means to them.  Even though they may have heard it a thousand times, for somebody to say, ‘thank you for your service’ means a great deal to them, because America’s been through a period where people wanted to hide the fact that they were veterans of the armed forces, particularly during the Vietnam era.”

Boykin said Christians in the military play a huge role.  He referenced a Barna poll showing about eight-out-of-ten people in the military say they know faithful Christians in the service and have a favorable opinion of them.  “Quite frequently, Christians that are walking their faith, that are living their faith, that are open about their faith, are often the ones that are sought out to help comfort their comrades, particularly in times of great stress and great danger,” he said.

Boykin said in his 36-years in the U.S. Army he experienced persecution from non-believers, some of whom later came to him for advice or prayer in times of trouble.

Now he says the armed services is reeling from Christian persecution from the Obama Administration.  “You can take, for example, chaplains that were being disciplined for giving Biblical answers to questions that they were asked, particularly as it relates to marriage and human sexuality,” Boykin said.

However, Boykin said he has personally met with President Trump and reports the current Commander-in-Chief is committed to reversing course.  “Trump told me his intentions that military men and women will be able to live their faith,” he said, adding, “It’s a slow change.”

Boykin recalled a pivotal moment in America’s history when he led a team of warriors in prayer before embarking on the mission to rescue 52-American hostages being held in Iran in 1980.  “I was praying for God’s protection and that God would return us to our families safely,” he said, “And every man that was standing there that morning, in that audience, returned home to their families basically unharmed.  So we gave God the credit for that.”

Thank God for blessing this nation with a Commander-in-Chief (President Trump) who is taking actions that permit Christian armed forces service members to freely exercise their religious convictions.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Those Occupying Pulpits & Pews Need to Politically Engage

It’s no longer enough for Conservatives and Christians to just do their civic duty by voting on Election Day.  In the words of veteran culture warrior, Maggie Gallagher, they “need to get more explicitly political.”

While the 2016 general election was good for Republicans, there was one notable exception: Democrat Roy Cooper beat out Republican incumbent Pat McCrory in the governor’s race in North Carolina – primarily due to HB2 – the state’s bathroom bill which allowed men into women’s restrooms.

The Human Rights Campaign spent tens of thousands of dollars on Cooper and ran ads like this: “More than 200 businesses have come out in opposition to HB2.  The NBA is moving next year’s All-Star game.  And some film producers have said they’ll stop shooting here.”

Gallagher, a senior fellow with American Principles Project, says all it would have taken for McCrory to be re-elected was one or two pro-family groups giving similar amounts of money.  “There was no organization that values life, marriage, or religious liberty that went in there to defend him,” she explains – adding that that’s the result of conservatives not using the political tools at hand.  “The left is politically organized and social conservatives are not really ...,” she continues.  “So we should stop talking like we’re in politics if we’re not going to actually build political institutions.”

In a very real sense, says Gallagher, culture follows politics.  “Politics is how we decide what’s important, it’s how we decide what’s in or outside the mainstream, and it’s how a lot of people in the middle hear messages other than those crafted by the mainstream media and Hollywood,” she says.

Gallagher is calling on conservatives to step up their game – and the sooner the better.  “It’s really urgent – and yes, it might be too late.  The Republican Party shut down [and] the left is mopping up on the idea that they can shut down the Republican Party on any issue they choose,” Gallagher tells OneNewsNow.  “And once they’re convinced of that, you’re going to see things that make your head spin.”  America, she adds, is well on its way to being a country where it’s unacceptable to be a traditional Christian.

I, unashamedly, am a traditional, conservative Christian; and I’ve long since stepped up my game in my role as a called minister of the Gospel.  But I must confess, it feels pretty lonely (at times) where I stand.  I welcome more of you to join me!

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

The Racist Roots of Planned ‘Murderhood’ is Recently Tweeted

Planned Parenthood (PP) is again showing signs that it hasn’t distanced itself from its race-based origin.

From an account labeled “PP Black Community,” the largest abortion provider in the United States tweeted: “If you’re a Black woman in America, it’s statistically safer to have an abortion than to carry a pregnancy to term or give birth.”

Jim Sedlak of American Life League (ALL) argues that the abortion provider has no basis for such a claim.  He also tells OneNewsNow that PP’s horrible tweet was racist, bigoted, and erroneous.  “This [tweet] is something Planned Parenthood has claimed for years,” says Sedlak.  “They have no backup, no statistics on this at all.  It’s something they invented.” 

But the intent, Sedlak points out, fits with the history of the abortion conglomerate.  PP Founder Margaret Sanger referred to blacks and others as “human weeds” and a menace to the white race.  While that was almost 100-years ago, Sedlak says the recent tweet and other racist incidents continue today.

Sedlak went on to refer to an investigation conducted in 2015 by the pro-life advocacy group Live Action in which pro-lifers (posing as potential donors) called various PP centers.  Live Action taped the responses as to whether financial donations could be earmarked for the killing of preborn black babies.  In each taped call, PP employees were quite willing to accept those funds and readily agreed to use the money to abort specifically black babies.

“This is a racist organization,” states Sedlak, “and they ought to be done away with.”

In fact, ALL has done research showing the majority of PP abortion clinic are located in or near minority neighborhoods throughout the U.S.  Now that’s strategic planning!

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Unborn Children Excluded From U.N. Human Rights Committee ‘Right to Life’ International Law

Despite pleas from more than one hundred governments and pro-life organizations – including the United States – the U.N. Human Rights Committee recently excluded unborn children from the right to life in international law in Geneva.

“I was worried for a minute we would discuss the word limit for separate opinions,” joked Yuval Shany.  The Israeli law professor was mocking pro-life concerns as the committee rushed through a second reading of a controversial draft commentary on the right to life in what is perhaps the most important U.N. human rights treaty.  Shany, who has been in charge of the draft for 2-years, knew there would be no dissent.  The 18-members of the committee that records the state efforts to implement the treaty unanimously agreed on a text that in some respects is more extreme than the previous one.  The committee added language about access to abortion not just being a right under the covenant, but that it must also be “affordable” and “effective,” as abortion groups recommended to the committee.  U.S. law professor Sarah Cleveland said this was needed to make it easier for rape victims to obtain abortions.

No expert expressed concern for children in the womb capable of feeling pain, or brought up the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which expressly requires states to protect children “before birth.”

“I am very sensitive to my conscience,” said Mauro Politi at one point.  The Italian professor’s conscience was not troubled by abortion itself, but the need to ensure women are able to abort their unborn children in cases of rape, disability, or when a mother’s life is at risk.

“Of course, we have agreed that it is up to states to make the determination of when life begins,” said German professor Anja Seibert-Fohr … the only member of the committee who advised caution about imposing a right to abortion, pointing to the European Court of Human Rights as a model.

“States do have some discretion,” agreed Shany.  “We do not want to touch the issue of late-term abortions.”

The Japanese Chair of the committee, Yuji Iwasawa, was in a hurry and appeared impatient.  He insisted these issues had already been discussed … though there is no public record of those discussions.

The committee barely flinched as the United States, Russia, Egypt, Japan, Poland, and others denied the committee’s authority to read a right to abortion into the treaty.

The treaty is a “living instrument” said French professor Olivier de Frouville.  Along with Shany, he pointed out how the committee and U.N. treaty bodies routinely insist on a right to abortion.

The only snag for the committee was not from sovereign States, but another part of the U.N. bureaucracy.  The U.N. committee on disabilities asked that the draft be changed to avoid expressions that demean the disabled.

Iwasawa indicated that he had met with the Chair of the disabilities committee, and implied that the disabilities committee would be fine with referring to abortion for “non-viable” pregnancies as opposed to abortion for fatally “impaired” fetuses.

The second reading is expected to continue in March 2018.  The committee has yet to reach the issue of euthanasia … which is currently considered an obligation in the draft commentary.

These quoted (so-called) ‘intellectuals’ may be humanly knowledgeable and academically credentialed, but they lack the divine wisdom of God … from whom our inalienable right to life is granted.  

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

The Fear of Politicizing the Pulpit in the GOP Tax Reform

In the course of formulating the U.S. House GOP Tax Reform bill, an amendment was introduced to the committee by Rep. John Lewis (GA-D) to keep the Johnson Amendment as part of the U.S. tax code.  The Johnson Amendment currently prevents 501(c)(3) organizations (organizations like churches that are tax exempt), from engaging in political activities.

Under the current House GOP Tax Reform bill, there is a provision that would repeal the Johnson Amendment … named after former President Lyndon B. Johnson … which became part of the tax code in 1954 (when Johnson was a senator).  This amendment prohibited 501(c)(3)s from endorse political candidates … with the penalty of losing their tax exempt status.

Some Democrats fear what may become of America’s religious institutions and country if the amendment were to be repealed.

While some concerns may be justifiable, other fears are taken to ridiculous heights.  Rep. Ron Kind (WI-D) advocated for the amendment to stay.  Rep. Kind fears the repeal of the amendment as he says repealing “has the potential of tearing the very fabric of our communities.”  Rep. Kind continued: “Repealing the Johnson Amendment will politicize the pulpit.  It will create civil war in the pews.  It will establish Republican and Democratic churches, and synagogues, and mosques overnight.  We all know it.  We all know how tribal and how polarized our political system is today.  We are self-segregating way too much already; with who are we deciding to affiliate, what clubs we join, what family members we even like to hang out with these days given our political affiliation ...”

While some may agree with parts of Rep. Kind’s sentiment, few may agree with his next statement.  To summarize his feelings on the repeal of the amendment, Rep. Kind said, “You politicize the pulpit, it’s going to make the Sunni-Shia conflict in the Middle East look like a picnic.  Repealing the Johnson Amendment is going to result in political sectarian violence on a greater level than seen in the Middle East?  The two sects of Islam, Sunni and Shia, have been slaughtering one another for centuries as the two ideologies compete for political power in countries throughout the Middle East.”

While Rep. Kind may disagree with repealing the Johnson Amendment, if it were to happen, he should have a little more faith in the American people.  This rhetoric is fear mongering, and may further polarize our political system.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Why the Hatred for Christians in America?

On Sunday, November 5th – the day of the church massacre in Texas – cultural commentator David French tweeted, “The amount of anti-Christian hate on Twitter the same day Christians were massacred is stunning and chilling.”

One would think that there would have been some restraint in attacking Christians, maybe even a little sympathy for Christians; but the opposite proved true.  Why?

On Fox News, Laura Ingraham noted that some of the reactions to the shooting pointed to “elite hostility to people of faith,” stating that “hostility to faith infects the popular culture.” She also spoke of a rising “militant secularism,” drawing attention to comments which mocked the prayers of believers on behalf of those affected by Sunday’s church massacre.

Dr. Michael Brown, the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program, says – “This is more than heartless and tactless.  It is intentional and quite focused: Faith in God is to be mocked, in particular, Christian faith, and when Christians are slaughtered during a church service, that is the perfect time to pile on.”

The mockery following the massacre included: “Where was your God, you stupid Christians?  A lot of good your praying did!  Go ahead and stick your head in the sand some more and keep praying to your imaginary deity.  You deserve each other!”

Unfortunately, these sentiments should not surprise us … as despicable and ugly as they may be.  The truth is: There is an increasing, palpable hostility towards the gospel in some quarters in America, and it can easily be explained according to Dr. Brown:

First, it is a natural fruit of the harsh and condescending “new atheism” … which continues to poison many hearts and minds with its venom.  God is not simply to be rejected; He is to be mocked and ridiculed, as are His followers.

Second, the hatred is a result of the culture wars, in which conservative Christians are targeted because of their opposition to LGBT activism and abortion.  Bible-believing Christians are commonly compared to ISIS, accused of wanting to establish a Taliban-type theocracy, and called bigots and haters and Nazis.

Third, evangelical Christians, in particular, are lumped together with President Trump, as if we are responsible for (or in support of) every statement he makes and every stand he takes.  To the extent that he is divisive, we are blamed for his shortcomings, and just as many on the right despised President Obama, many on the left despise President Trump. And as they despise him, they also despise us.

Fourth, the darkness hates the light, and this is an age-old battle that will continue until Jesus returns.  To the extent we stand for sexual purity and biblical morality, and to the extent we preach Jesus as the only true way to God, we will be mocked and scorned.  That’s the way it has always been, and that’s the way it will always be, and that’s why we must not deceive ourselves in terms of the cultural climate in America.

The hostility against us is reaching a crescendo, and things could get even uglier in the days ahead.  That’s why we should remember the words that Peter wrote almost 2,000 years ago: “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.  But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed.  If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.  But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.  Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.” (1 Peter 4:12-16)

And that’s why we should also remember the words of Jesus, who called us to pray for those who persecute us (read Matthew 5:44), as well as the words of Paul, who called us to overcome evil with good (read Romans12:21).

Many of those who ridicule us (today) will (someday) be preaching our message … remembering that some of the finest ministers of the Gospel were once profane Gospel mockers.

While we can expect more abuse in the days to come, we can also expect some of our abusers to have a change of heart as they encounter the God whom they mock.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

The War on Christian Veterans’ Memorials Must be Fought by the Living

Attorneys have requested a rehearing for a case involving a veterans’ memorial that atheists have claimed is unconstitutional because of its Christian imagery.

In a 2–1 ruling last month, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit declared that the World War I Veterans Memorial in Bladensburg, Virginia, unconstitutional.  The 90-year-old and 40-foot-tall memorial is in the shape of a cross – something the Circuit considers a government endorsement of religion.  The memorial is maintained with public funds.

First Liberty Institute (FLI) and the Jones Day law firm have filed a petition for a rehearing en banc [French for “in bench” – a session in which a case is heard before all the judges of a court (the entire bench) rather than by a panel of judges selected from them] on behalf of The American Legion in the lawsuit.  “The decision of the Fourth Circuit sets dangerous precedent, and it threatens the removal and destruction of veterans’ memorials across the United States,” argued FLI attorney Roger Byron.  “If this memorial has to come down, then there is nothing to protect the countless other memorials across the country to our nation’s veterans that happen to use religious imagery – whether that would be tearing down the countless other memorials across the country to our nation’s veterans that happen to use religious imagery, whether that would be tearing down the Argonne Cross in Arlington National Cemetery, or sandblasting the word ‘God’ from the tomb of the unknown soldier.”

FLI President and CEO Kelly Shackelford asserts that memorials are living reminders of our country’s history and the cost of war.  “How will we remember the fallen or teach the next generation about service and sacrifice if we start bulldozing veterans’ memorials and cemeteries across America?” the conservative legal expert posed.  “We will continue our work to overturn this decision and defend the memory of those who preserved our freedom.”

The Fourth Circuit has complete discretion on whether to grant a rehearing in the lawsuit. FLI hopes to hear back in this month on whether its petition has been granted.

American Legion Lead Counsel Michael Carvin, who is also a partner at Jones Day, stressed the magnitude of the lawsuit’s outcome.  “This is a case of exceptional importance that threatens memorials nationwide,” Carvin pointed out.  “We are hopeful the Fourth Circuit will recognize the significance of this case and the necessity of en banc review.”

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

When a Judge Becomes Supreme Judicial Commander-in-Chief

A federal judge overstepped her authority by reversing President Donald Trump’s policy for transgenders in the U.S. armed forces, says a military watchdog.

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly issued a preliminary injunction Oct. 30th that reversed Trump’s surprise announcement that reversed the Obama-era policy announced in 2016.  The injunction stops Trump’s order from taking effect while a group of transgenders are suing.

“It appears that this judge wants to be known, or thought of, as a supreme judicial commander of the military,” complains Elaine Donnelly, President of the Center for Military Readiness.  “It is highly inappropriate,” Donnelly continues, “for a federal district judge to try to make policy for the military or overturn the policy of the executive branch.”

“It violates the Constitution,” responded Heritage Foundation scholar Ryan Anderson on Twitter, “to go back to the policy that Obama had in place for seven plus years of his presidency?  Really?”

Trump surprised conservatives over the summer, and angered homosexual activists, when he tweeted that he was reversing an order that had come late in the Obama Administration.  The order reportedly surprised military commanders, too, and it took weeks for the Pentagon to announce a plan to implement a new policy that reverses years of homosexual-friendly policies implemented during the Obama years.  Six service members who sued are claiming Trump’s order violates their right to equal protection, The Washington Post (WP) reported on last week.  The judge was “unsparing” in her ruling that claims there is “no support for the claim that the ongoing service of transgender people would have any negative effect on the military at all,” the WP said, quoting the order.

The judge’s order did not address a new policy that bars military funding for sex-reassignment surgery.  Donnelly says the judge has based her judicial opinion on the wrong premise.  “Namely egalitarianism,” she says, “as if the military exists to provide careers and jobs.  It doesn’t exist to provide medical benefits either.”  Even health care coverage in the U.S. armed forces is related to military readiness, says Donnelly, who predicts the judge’s order will be overturned.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

A Trump Nominee Gets Senate Approved Despite Dem’s Religious Litmus Test

The U.S. Senate has confirmed Amy Coney Barrett of Indiana to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Barrett made headlines during her confirmation hearing when Democratic Sen. Diane Feinstein argued that Barrett's Catholic religious beliefs were too prominent in her life.  [read my previous posting dated October 2, 2017 – “Anti-Christian Bigotry in the U.S. Senate”]

Republican senators joined Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ahead of Barrett’s confirmation vote in a press conference to say they think Feinstein’s comments were unacceptable and unconstitutional.

Barrett is a Law Professor at the University of Notre Dame and a mother of seven.  She has written about religion’s place in public life and given lectures before Christian legal groups.

In September, Feinstein (CA-D), told Barrett, “When you read your speeches, the conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you, and that’s of concern when you come to big issues that large numbers of people have fought for, for years in this country.”

Barrett was then grilled by Sen. Al Franken (MN-D) and Sen. Dick Durbin (IL-D), who asked the nominee how her Catholic faith might influence her decisions as a federal judge.

Since the hearing, many senators have called out Feinstein for crossing a line.  In a floor speech last month, Sen. Jeff Flake (AZ-R), asked his colleagues to evaluate Barrett on her qualifications to serve as a judge, not on her religious beliefs.  “What is remarkable is that I need to say this in 2017, it bears repeating.  A Roman Catholic can be a faithful steward of the law.  So can an Episcopalian, so can a Mormon, so can a Muslim, and so can an atheist,” Flake said.  “We in the Senate give the president advice and consent on judicial nominations.  We therefore should examine their jurisprudential views and their qualifications.  We must not examine their relationships with the Almighty.  I sincerely hope that this body will step back from that dangerous ledge and evaluate Professor Barrett based on her impeccable qualifications — not where she attends church,” he continued.

New York Times best-selling author and radio host Eric Metaxas says it is “frightening” to see a U.S. senator question a nominee this way.  “To me the idea that U.S. senators are this ignorant about this incredibly, utterly central element in American freedom, I find frightening and it should be a wakeup call to everybody,” Metaxas told CBN News.  “When Sen. Feinstein did this recently, I thought, ‘She actually thinks that what she’s saying is okay.  She thinks it’s just politics.’  It’s not just politics.  It’s fundamentally unconstitutional.”

Maureen Ferguson, Senior Policy Advisor with The Catholic Association, agrees with Metaxas, saying the senators should know better than to give a nominee a religious litmus test.  “Senators Feinstein and Durbin know full well that the Constitution prohibits any religious test for office, yet they proceeded with an offensive grilling of a highly qualified judicial nominee,  Amy Coney Barrett, asking inappropriate questions about her Catholic faith,” Ferguson said in a statement.

What say you?  Isn’t this anti-Christian bigotry unconstitutional?

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Surprise! Obama DOJ Admits IRS Targeted Tea Party

An attorney whose law firm defends liberty cases says it was satisfying to learn the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) has admitted wrongdoing by the Obama-era Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Oct. 26th that the DOJ has settled lawsuits with conservative organizations that claimed they were unfairly targeted by the IRS.  In a statement, Sessions said it was “clear” that the Obama Administration used “inappropriate criteria” to screen 501(c) applications using words such as “Tea Party” and “Patriots.”

The allegations aren’t new.  After first denying wrongdoing, the IRS claimed it made innocent mistakes – but the DOJ’s actions vindicate claims that the IRS “weaponized” itself, during the height of the tea party movement, to single out and illegally scrutinize conservatives.

The press release went on to state that 428 tea party members, from two groups, filed the class action lawsuit.

Carly Gammill, senior litigation counsel at the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), tells OneNewsNow that ACLJ represents more than 2-dozen tea party groups that were targeted.  “We are thrilled,” she says, “that the Trump Administration and the new attorney general, Sessions, has acknowledged what we’ve known for quite some time has been going on.”

The IRS has admitted in federal court that it wrongfully targeted right-wing organizations and is consenting to a court order that prohibits unconstitutional discrimination in the future.  Gammill says the Consent Order is designed to send a clear message to any future administration.  “If a different administration comes and says, Hey, we really like what the IRS was doing under Obama and want to try it again, you’ll have a court saying that’s unconstitutional and you can’t do it,” she says.

However, Rep. Vern Buchanan (FL-R), did not accept the apology from the IRS for targeting groups based their political leanings.  “Heads should roll and people should be held accountable for this gross abuse of power,” Buchanan (Chairman of the House Ways & Means Oversight Subcommittee) said in a press release last week.  “An apology five years after the fact is not good enough.  The American people need to know they can be critical of their government without fear of retribution,” Buchanan said.  The Republican lawmaker also urged the DOJ to look again at criminal charges for Lois Lerner, a former IRS official.

The DOJ recently declined to charge Lerner, saying that reopening that probe “would not be appropriate based on the available evidence.”  “Lerner betrayed the nation’s trust yet managed to avoid prosecution,” Buchanan said in the press release.

I don’t know about you, but I side with Rep. Buchanan.  IRS people like Lerner should be held accountable and pay the consequences for their prejudicial conduct.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

An Oxymoron – Social Justice

From Washington, D.C. to the NFL and Hollywood, America’s idols are tumbling down. This is not a bad thing.  For too long, we have wasted precious time and money worshipping these so-called “social justice” warrior hypocrites who continue to disappoint.  Unfortunately, huge swaths of Americans still bow at the altar of social justice.  They believe government-forced “charity” will advance us to a utopian paradise where everyone enjoys the same outcome … despite personal effort, up-bringing, unique abilities and education.

The truth is: Social justice is an oxymoron based on the false premise that the cure for injustice is leveling the playing field and redistributing wealth.  As former Vice President Joe Biden once said, “You may call it redistribution of wealth – I just call it being fair.”

Listen: Karl Marx hated religion, private property and Judeo-Christian values as much as the Left does today.  That’s why you should depart from any place of worship that combines Jesus, social justice and the government in the same sentence.

In his book, The Fatal Conceit: The Errors of Socialism, economist Friedrich Hayek nails what’s really at stake: “The aim of socialism is no less than to affect a complete redesigning of our traditional morals, law and language – and on this basis to stamp out the old order and the supposedly inexorable, unjustifiable conditions that prevent the institution of reason, fulfillment, true freedom and justice.”

The social justice warriors of the past are now out of the closet and no longer hide their agenda.  Instead, they proudly parade their intentions to destroy capitalism, silence free speech and prohibit Judeo-Christian values from the public square.  They harp about injustice and claim only they can fix it … which is an arrogant, egotistical pile of hogwash.  All that, while they divide us into two groups: normal folks and them.  They believe normal folks are incapable of coherent reasoning and self-care.  To them, everyday Americans aren’t diamonds in the rough, they are pliable, moldable objects used to reshape America into a socialist nightmare … like Venezuela.

Susan Brown said it best: “Democrats’ sacrosanct belief that the government was created to control how fairness is spread around is nothing more than a modern-day effort to reinvent Robin Hood, without all the chivalry and green tights.  Those who romantically embrace the concept of social justice believe the misnomer that stealing from some and passing it on to those who should have had it in the first place will result in some sort of righteous leveling.”

Listen: The Liberal-Left don’t own the market on charity.  Normal folks leave government out of the mix and combine their compassion with common sense.  They bring food in one hand and a rifle in the other … knowing if they teach someone how to hunt, they’ll eat for a lifetime.  In comparison, Leftists bring Trader Joe’s bagels in one hand and a voter’s registration card in the other … seizing the opportunity to convert their victims into non-thinking entitlement addicts.  They stop at nothing to meet an immediate need, and then lead them by their noses to Leftist-run metropolises where crime and government handouts abound.

Brown goes on to say, “I know, the devil is always in the details, but I’ll go ahead and say it anyhow.  Forced “charity” doesn’t bring about justice.  Instead, it creates injustice when it stirs up animosity between the less fortunate and those being penalized, taxed, for their hard work under penalty of prosecution.  In sharp contrast, there is a power in authentic generosity that no amount of government social-engineering could or will ever match.  The social justice crowd should dust off the knees they protest with and try it sometime.”

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Does an Illegal Immigrant Minor Have a ‘Constitutional Right’ to Have an Abortion?

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has sued the Trump Administration on behalf of an immigrant minor, named only as Jane Doe, who came to the United States illegally and has been denied access to an abortion by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) in a shelter in Brownsville, Texas (TX).

ORR released a statement recently emphasizing that the minor has no “constitutional right” to an abortion.  ORR informed Politico that they are “providing excellent care to this young woman and her unborn child and fulfilling our duty to the American people.  There is no constitutional right for a pregnant minor to illegally cross the U.S. border and get an elective abortion while in federal custody.”  They added, “We cannot cede our responsibility to care for minors and their babies by releasing them to ideological advocacy groups.”

“There is a pattern of unconstitutional overreach of power in a minor’s abortion decision,” the ACLU lawyer on the case, Brigitte Amiri claims.  The ACLU attempted to join the minor’s case last week with a separate lawsuit against religious groups, such as the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops that provide care to immigrants, but do not provide or refer them to abortions.  They argued in that request for a preliminary injunction in San Francisco Court that this policy is unconstitutional because it prevents minors, including the one in this most recent case who is referenced as Jane Doe, from exercising their “fundamental constitutional right to an abortion.”  The judge denied the request, arguing that she couldn’t hear Doe’s case because the girl is in TX.  However, the judge also said that “the government has no business blocking Jane Doe’s abortion.”

TX Attorney General Ken Paxton, who filed an amicus curiae brief on the side of the federal government in the ACLU’s earlier case, said a ruling to allow the minor an abortion would create a dangerous precedent.  “No federal court has ever declared that unlawfully present aliens with no substantial ties to this country have a constitutional right to abortion on demand,” Paxton pointed out in a statement.  “If ‘Doe’ prevails in this case, the ruling will create a right to abortion for anyone on earth who enters the U.S. illegally.  And with that right, countless others undoubtedly would follow.  Texas must not become a sanctuary state for abortions.”  Paxton said that “Texas has a legitimate and substantial interest in preserving and promoting fetal life, as well as an interest in promoting respect for human life at all stages in a pregnancy.”

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel