The board of Twitter announced on Monday that it would accept entrepreneur Elon Musk’s $44 billion dollar offer to bring the company private. While the future of Twitter is uncertain, there is renewed hope for those who want to see Twitter become a platform devoted to free speech.
The takeover of Twitter is good news for fans for free speech. For the past eight years, Twitter and its readiness to ban dissident voices has been damaging to free speech across the world. In 2020, after the riot at the United States capital, Twitter permanently banned the account of President Donald Trump over his supposed involvement. Twitter continues to suspend the Babylon Bee and even briefly suspended our own Minnesota Family Council Twitter account. What was the violation? We simply stated that Rachel Levine (formerly Richard), Assistant Secretary of Health, is in fact, a man who identifies as a woman. Fortunately, the future looks brighter.
The race to replace the late Representative Jim Hagedorn (R-MN) is a crowded one. Since the special election was announced, some twenty candidates have officially made their bid for office. Minnesota Congressional District #1 (CD1) has often been a close race, and it has the potential to be close again after the passing of Rep. Hagedorn on February 18th. Although the district leans Republican, Hagedorn narrowly won by half of a percentage in 2018. With expectations of another close race, donors have pumped over $1 million to fuel individual campaigns on both sides.
The most well-known candidate on the Republican side is Jennifer Carnahan, Rep. Hagedorn’s widow, and former Minnesota GOP Chairwoman. A recent straw poll gave Carnahan 37% of the vote despite controversies over her record at MNGOP. Last year, questions were raised over her work relationship with Anton "Tony" Lazzaro, who is now serving time for federal sex-trafficking charges, which eventually led to her resignation. Although Carnahan denied any involvement, many GOP employees expressed how Carnahan allegedly turned a blind eye to sexual harassment in the office. Carnahan was later forced to step down from her role as chairwoman, but after her husband’s death she quickly organized a run for the seat he held. In her own words, Carnahan’s bid for office is to “to keep my husband's legacy moving forward." Her campaign has raised $151,400 with $8,000 of her own money going towards the effort.
With 20% in the latest straw polling, Rep. Jeremy Munson, a small business owner from Lake Crystal, Minnesota, has accumulated the greatest cash-flow among the Republican candidates, raising $102,000 and personally loaning $200,000 to his campaign. He has been endorsed by national politicians such as Congressmen Scott Perry (R-PA), Thomas Massie (R-KY), and Jim Jordan (R-OH).
Rob Kenney, creator of the “Dad, how do I?” YouTube channel, grew up without a father. Without a dad, Rob struggled to complete everyday tasks because he had no one to teach him. In response to this, he made it his mission to become a virtual father to millions of kids across the globe, teaching them how to shave, jump a car, and live with integrity. Rob is an excellent example of why we need to help fathers step up to the plate. Florida’s recent “Responsible Fatherhood” bill will help fathers play a more positive role in their families in the years to come.
The Responsible Fatherhood bill aims at providing educational training and mentorship programs for fathers to strengthen their involvement in the home. The bill was signed into law on April 11th, after receiving unanimous support in both the Florida House and Senate. Proponents of the bill reasoned that fathers should be supported because of the impact they can have on children. In a tweet after signing the bill into law, Governor Ron DeSantis cited that kids without fathers are two times more likely to drop out of school, and three times more likely to end up in prison (for males). These facts are reason enough to promote responsible fatherhood, but let’s look deeper.
The importance a mother in a child’s life is undeniable, but mothers and fathers both have different and crucial roles to play. While a mother may console and nurture a child, a father encourages them to reach higher and try more. Fathers prepare children for the real world by lovingly reminding children about the consequences of their actions. Perhaps more importantly, good fathers act as role models in their children’s lives, showing them how to respect others. Both mothers and fathers are instrumental in a child’s life, a fact made incredibly clear in God’s Word.
Part of what makes our LEAD program unique is our three-pronged approach to equipping the next generation — LEAD is a worldview and leadership camp that equips teens with a hands-on understanding of the legislative process.
Each of these elements is crucial to equipping the next generation to become leaders who boldly and winsomely stand up for the truth and practice citizenship worthy of the gospel. Over the next couple of weeks, we’re going to be looking at the components that make LEAD and why each of them matters to our mission of equipping the next generation of leaders.
Spring is a wonderful time of year. During this season, we see the snow of winter melt away to be replaced by new life. In this cycle of nature, we experience the physical manifestation of what Easter means. The resurrection of Jesus Christ allows us to sprout out of the rocky ground and begin a new life in accordance with His Word, by the power of His Holy Spirit.
Ever since the original sin of Adam, humanity has been guilty before God and subject to his wrath (Genesis 3:14). There is no way to put it nicely. Every day, we all actively participate in rebellion from God, and without His grace, we condemn ourselves to an eternity apart from Him. Fortunately for us, the story does not end here. God, in His grace, sent His son to take on the wrath that we justly deserved (Romans 2:5). The Bible tells us that Jesus came to be the propitiation for those sins (Romans 3:25). He did so by dying on a cross. But again this was not the end of the story, because on the third day Jesus rose from the grave and ascended into glory.
In the book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis gives a wonderful fictionalized portrayal of the importance of Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection. Edmund, one of the main protagonists, falls prone to the lies of the evil White Witch, and in doing so is condemned to die. Edmund represents us in all our weakness and sinfulness. He would be doomed to die if it were not for Aslan, the Great Lion, who takes on Edmund’s debt and dies in his place. Aslan is beaten, shamed, and killed on a cold, stone table. But, with the warmth of the rising sun, Aslan rises from the dead and the power of the White Witch is broken.
It has been a long time since American conservatives have been on the offensive. Perhaps Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is an exception, but in large part, conservative leaders are so busy attempting to reel in progressive radicalism that they struggle to enact positive change. With conservatism on defense, it is interesting to consider what kind of nation we would create if given the opportunity. The nation of Hungary provides an excellent example, along with inspiring hope for the conservative movement.
The Hungarian Fidesz party, which champions conservative values, won the 2022 election in a landslide over its liberal opponents. Not only did their Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, win another term in office, but Fidesz was able to expand their parliamentary super-majority. Their victory has set in motion the expansion of conservative values across the nation.
In large part, their victory is due to the party’s willingness to go on the offensive. Instead of promising to cut taxes and try to forestall the progressive march through institutions, they have taken proactive steps to make their country a better place.
On March 31st, the Biden Administration sent a letter to all state Attorneys General demanding that they make it easier for children who identify as transgender to receive puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and sex-change surgeries. The goal of this, according to the Administration, is to “keep [kids] healthy and safe.” Indeed, President Biden has referred to “transgender equality” as “the civil rights issue of our time,” comparing it to Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington.
The letter outlines how the Biden Administration intends to stop individual states from banning so-called “gender-affirming care.” If a child, under the influence of teachers, peers, or parents, wants to change their gender, they will receive legal protection to do so. But most, if not all, children will outgrow their gender dysphoria by the time they reach adulthood, so why does the Biden administration think that providing so-called “gender-affirming care” is so vital?
The Administration’s rationale is that transition-affirming procedures will lower suicide rates of transgender-identified children. Transition affirmation, however, does not reduce the rates of child suicides. In Sweden, a study has shown that people who go through sex-reassignment have a 20% higher suicide rate than the base population.
This year the Women’s Final Four Tournament will be held in Minneapolis. It’s impeccable timing, as the current position of women’s rights is quite literally March Madness 2022.
In last week’s Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice nominee Kentanji Brown Jackson, we learned it is now controversial to adhere to the scientific and biological position that women definitively exist. While I disagree with much of Judge Jackson’s judicial philosophy, there is a sense of comradery between female attorneys as most female attorneys would agree that even today, we are not always treated as equals with our male colleagues. However, Judge Jackson is not only a female, she will likely be the first African American female U.S. Supreme Court Justice. It is undoubtedly an incredible accomplishment for both her and for our country. Unfortunately, by her own admission, we cannot celebrate that truth. In the confirmation hearings, when asked, “what is a woman?” she replied, “I don’t know, I’m not a biologist.” So, all we can say definitively is that Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson would be the first person claiming to be an African American woman to sit on the Supreme Court. There’s simply no way to know for sure!
With the wave of intolerance against women (whoever they might be), it should come as no surprise that just last year the ACLU butchered a statement from one of the most prominent women in American history, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, replacing the use of her words “woman” “she” and “her” with gender-neutral words such as “their” and “persons.”
Minnesota is no exception to through-the-looking-glass notions of womanhood. Last year, a male athlete filed a lawsuit against USA Powerlifting for not allowing him to compete in women's powerlifting competition. The Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) has also wholeheartedly embraced policies allowing for unfair competition between male and female athletes. The organization changed its bylaws to allow males to play on girls’ sports teams in the face of significant opposition and despite incontrovertible statistics showing that male athletes have significant competitive advantages and may even increase the risk of injuring female competitors.
To the left sat the opposition to my bill. To the right were my supporters, friends, and the police officer I was there to represent. We debated for the better part of an hour, using evidence, logic, and testimonies to make our case. In the end, our bill passed, and I walked away with a greater understanding of how our government worked. That was only half of what I learned at LEAD, a student statesmanship and worldview camp. As students, we were able to learn about culture and worldview from pastors, writers, and legislators. We had the opportunity to participate in small group discussions about topics like abortion, and how to approach it in both the political and cultural realm. In short, experience at LEAD gave me experience that has allowed me to succeed in every aspect of my life.
Our culture has shown how little it cares for our students. Instead of leading our classrooms with the pledge of allegiance, teachers have sought to integrate radical theories on sexuality and racial justice. Instead of challenging students with rigorous, critical thinking, they have allowed them to develop a blind, follow the leader mentality. LEAD, on the other hand, requires students to rise above the low expectations that culture puts on them. The ability to think critically is a crucial aspect of succeeding now, and in the future.
