#2387 (7/31) "Trump's Trade Triumph"

"TRUMP'S TRADE TRIUMPH" -  Stephen Moore : Jul 31, 2018; https://townhall.com/columnists/stephenmoore/2018/07/31/trumps-trade-triumph-n2505223

     The media and other Trump haters can't seem to let themselves admit it, but President Donald Trump scored a big victory for the American economy on trade last week. Trump and the European Union reached a handshake deal that is designed to lower tariffs on both sides of the Atlantic. They agreed to shoot for zero tariffs. Sounds like freer and fairer trade to me.

The exact details are still a bit murky, but what we do know is that the EU has pledged to lower its tariffs and other trade barriers on American soybeans, oil and gas, pharmaceutical products and certain manufactured goods. Trump promised to suspend some of the auto and aluminum and steel tariffs that he was threatening to whack the eurozone with.

It gets better: The two sides also agreed in principle to find ways to combat "unfair trading practices, including intellectual property theft, forced technology transfers, industrial subsidies and distortions created by state owned enterprises," according to a joint statement released by Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

These are the very trade violations that Trump has been railing against. We don't engage in these anti-trade activities; Europe, Japan and China do. Before Trump came on the scene, most nations denied that this cheating and stealing were even happening. Any progress in ending these unfair trade practices is an indisputable victory for the United States. In 18 months, Trump accomplished something that no previous president of the last 30 years could.

Yet the spin from many of the pundits begins by opining that Trump was the one who blinked here. The Politico story headline was amazing: "Trump backs off new tariffs on EU in retreat from trade war." Bloomberg also described the agreement as a "Trump retreat" and a "victory for the EU."
    Excuse me. Retreating and backing down is how you describe the losers in a fight. Trump won a first-round tko. It's like saying Sonny Liston beat Muhammad Ali even though it was Liston sprawled on the tarp.

We have here more evidence that the American president is the master negotiator. In private meetings during the campaign, he often told me that he is not a protectionist and that he wants more trade but that it has to be fair. The objective of his tactics has always been to use the leverage of punitive tariffs to reverse foreign trade laws that discriminate against American companies and workers.

This is the key point: Trump's tariffs are meant to force other countries to lower theirs. It's a dangerous game, for sure, because it can risk a trade war escalation -- as we are now seeing with China. But Trump has always believed that the United States has the upper hand because of our massive consumer market, and that our trading partners will be forced to capitulate sooner rather than later.

What is clear is that he has played the Europeans like a fiddle here. His threat of a 20 percent auto tariff scared the daylights out of the Germans. Those levies could cripple their already-struggling economy. The panic in Berlin is what drove the EU to the bargaining table.

Even more masterful was how Trump got the Europeans to agree to buy more American natural gas. At the start of the NATO summit back on July 11, Trump slammed Germany for a gas pipeline deal with Russia. He said this would make Europe "captive" to Moscow. The teetotalers were horrified by Trump's "undiplomatic" outburst aimed at "one of America's closest allies." Yet here we are a few weeks later, and the Europeans have agreed to buy more American gas. Is it that hard to connect these dots?

I often disagree with Trump's saber-rattling trade antics. But it's getting harder all the time to find fault with the results.  

We aren't out of the trade-war fires yet -- far from it. But if Trump can solidify this deal with the Germans, the French and the rest of the EU and get a Mexico free-trade deal signed, he can then isolate China as the bad actor on the world stage and force Beijing to stop its half-trillion dollars a year of cheating and stealing.

Do any of these things sound like the results of a president who is "retreating"?

[italics and colored emphasis mine]
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"Trump Moves in the Right Direction on Trade With Europe" - Tori Whiting / @torikwhiting / July 26, 2018; https://www.dailysignal.com/2018/07/26/trump-moves-in-the-right-direction-on-trade-with-europe/
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PRAYING FOR THE HORN OF AFRICA - Located in East Africa, the Horn of Africa peninsula includes Muslim-majority countries (and two regions) where Christians are often forced to worship Christ in secret. These believers face some of the most brutal persecution of Christians anywhere, but the Church is adding to its numbers. Throughout July, we’re focusing on this part of the world, and we ask you to join us in praying for the Church in the Horn of Africa.

July 31 | IRAN - During 2017, at least 52 Christians were arrested. Many of them (especially converts) have been prosecuted and sentenced to long jail terms. Their families are publicly humiliated. Pray for these believers as their families may disown them.

#2386 (7/30) "Sorry If You’re Offended, but Socialism Leads to Misery and Destitution"

"SORRY IF YOU'RE OFFENDED, BUT SOCIALISM LEADS TO MISERY AND DESTITUTION" - David Harsanyi/ @davidharsanyi / July 27, 2018 / https://www.dailysignal.com/2018/07/27/sorry-if-youre-offended-but-socialism-leads-to-misery-and-destitution [AS I SEE IT: With many millennials  supporting socialism, you have to wonder what exactly they are being taught not only in their colleges, but whether or not they were given a balanced view of this repeated failed political philosophy when they were young teens. What does pass for "education" these days? - Stan]

A commuter walks through the Petare neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela, a district hard-hit by shortages of food, medicine, and water. (Photo: Claudia Guadarrama/Polaris/Newscom)

     On the same day that Venezuela’s “democratically” elected socialist president, Nicolas Maduro, whose once-wealthy nation now has citizens foraging for food, announced he was lopping five zeros off the country’s currency to create a “stable financial and monetary system,” Meghan McCain of “The View” was the target of internet-wide condemnation for having stated some obvious truths about collectivism.
    During the same week we learned that the democratic socialist president of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, is accused of massacring hundreds of protesters whose economic futures have been decimated by his economic policies, Soledad O’Brien and writers at outlets ranging from GQ, to BuzzFeed, to the Daily Beast were telling McCain to cool her jets.

In truth, McCain was being far too calm. After all, socialism is the leading man-made cause of death and misery in human existence. Whether implemented by a mob or a single strongman, collectivism is a poverty generator, an attack on human dignity, and a destroyer of individual rights.

It’s true that not all socialism ends in the tyranny of Leninism or Stalinism or Maoism or Castroism or Ba’athism or Chavezism or the Khmer Rouge—only most of it does. And no, New York primary winner Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez doesn’t intend to set up gulags in Alaska. Most so-called democratic socialists—the qualifier affixed to denote that they live in a democratic system and have no choice but to ask for votes—aren’t consciously or explicitly endorsing violence or tyranny.
    But when they adopt the term “socialism” and the ideas associated with it, they deserve to be treated with the kind of contempt and derision that all those adopting authoritarian philosophies deserve.

But look: Norway!  Socialism is perhaps the only ideology that Americans are asked to judge solely based on its piddling “successes.” Don’t you dare mention Albania or Algeria or Angola or Burma or Congo or Cuba or Ethiopia or Laos or Somalia or Vietnam or Yemen or, well, any other of the dozens of other inconvenient places socialism has been tried. Not when there are a handful of Scandinavian countries operating generous welfare state programs propped up by underlying vibrant capitalism and natural resources.

Of course, socialism exists on a spectrum, and even if we accept that the Nordic social program experiments are the most benign iteration of collectivism, they are certainly not the only version. Pretending otherwise would be like saying, “The police state of Singapore is more successful than Denmark. Let’s give it a spin.”
    It turns out, though, that the “Denmark is awesome!” talking point is only the second-most preposterous one used by socialists. It goes something like this: If you’re a fan of “roads, schools, libraries, and such,” although you may not even be aware of it, you are also a supporter of socialism.

This might come as a surprise to some, but every penny of the $21,206 spent in Ocasio-Cortez’s district each year on each student, rich or poor, is provided with the profits derived from capitalism. There is no welfare system, no library that subsists on your good intentions. Having the state take over the entire health care system could rightly be called a socialistic endeavor, but pooling local tax dollars to put books in a building is called local government.

It should also be noted that today’s socialists get their yucks by pretending collectivist policies only lead to innocuous outcomes like local libraries. But for many years they were also praising the dictators of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the nation’s most successful socialist, isn’t merely impressed with the goings-on in Denmark. Not very long ago, he lauded Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela as an embodiment of the “American dream,” even more so than the United States.

Socialists like to blame every inequity, the actions of every greedy criminal, every downturn, and every social ill on the injustice of capitalism. But none of them admit that capitalism has been the most effective way to eliminate poverty in history.

Today, in former socialist states like India, there have been big reductions in poverty thanks to increased capitalism. In China, where communism sadly still deprives more than a billion people of their basic rights, hundreds of millions benefit from a system that is slowly shedding socialism. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the extreme poverty rate in the world has been cut in half. And it didn’t happen because Southeast Asians were raising the minimum wage.

In the United States, only 5 percent of people are even aware that poverty has fallen in the world, according to the Gapminder Foundation, which is almost certainly in part due to the left’s obsession with “inequality” and normalization of “socialism.”

Nearly half of American millennials would rather live in a socialist society than in a capitalist one, according to a YouGov poll. That said, only 71 percent of those asked were able to properly identify either. We can now see the manifestation of this ignorance in our elections and “The View” co-host Joy Behar.

But if all you really champion are some higher taxes and more generous social welfare, stop associating yourself with a philosophy that usually brings destitution and death. Call it something else. If not, McCain has every right to associate you with the ideology you embrace.


[italics and colored emphasis mine]

David Harsanyi is a senior editor at The Federalist and the author of the forthcoming "First Freedom: A Ride through America's Enduring History With the Gun, From the Revolution to Today."
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"Inflation to Hit 1 Million Percent in Collapsing, Socialist Venezuela" - Jarrett Stepman / @JarrettStepman / July 26, 2018; https://www.dailysignal.com/2018/07/26/inflation-to-hit-1-million-percent-in-collapsing-socialist-venezuela/
"Brutal: Examining Ocasio-Cortez's Painful Answer on Funding Her Socialist Utopia" -  Guy Benson | @guypbenson |Jul 30, 2018; https://townhall.com/tipsheet/guybenson/2018/07/30/brutal-examining-ocasiocortezs-painful-answer-on-funding-her-socialist-utopia-n2504457
"Millennial Socialism: Stupid, Evil, or Both?" -  Kurt  Schlichter: Jul 30, 2018; https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2018/07/30/millennial-socialism-stupid-evil-or-both-n2504950
"Being a Socialist Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry" - Ben Shapiro : Aug 01, 2018; https://townhall.com/columnists/benshapiro/2018/08/01/being-a-socialist-means-never-having-to-say-youre-sorry-n2505616

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Praying Through the Open Doors World Watch List for persecuted believers:To learn more, please go to -https://www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/monthly-prayer-calendar/

PRAYING FOR THE HORN OF AFRICA - Located in East Africa, the Horn of Africa peninsula includes Muslim-majority countries (and two regions) where Christians are often forced to worship Christ in secret. These believers face some of the most brutal persecution of Christians anywhere, but the Church is adding to its numbers. Throughout July, we’re focusing on this part of the world, and we ask you to join us in praying for the Church in the Horn of Africa.
July 30 | TURKEY - Turkey is gradually enforcing Islamic infl uence, and discrimination
against Christians and other religious minorities is increasing. Pray that those experiencing persecution will place all hope and trust in Him.

#2385 (7/29) SUNDAY SPECIAL: "Why Some Christians [Wrongly] Embrace LGBT Theology - Experience Over Arguments"

"WHY SOME CHRISTIANS [WRONGLY]EMBRACE LGBT THEOLOGY - EXPERIENCE OVER ARGUMENTS" - by John Stonestreet and G. Shane Morris, July 25, 2018;http://www.breakpoint.org/2018/07/breakpoint-why-some-christians-embrace-lgbt-theology/

     What if I told you that the best arguments to embrace LGBT ideology in the church aren’t really arguments at all?

Jonathan Swift, author of “Gulliver’s Travels,” is often credited with saying that you can’t reason someone out of something they were never reasoned into.

I’m often reminded of this quotation while listening to self-identifying Christians argue in support of same-sex relationships. Rarely do I ever hear an actual argument, certainly not from Scripture. What I do hear are experiences—how befriending an LGBT person or getting a certain feeling or receiving a supposed message from God should lead Christians to a new view of sex, marriage, and the human person—a view the church has unanimously rejected for two millennia.

Recently, the Human Rights Campaign released a so-called “faith guide” that offers a glaring example of just this kind of thinking. It’s full of the same bad “arguments” that are trotted out over and over. Even so, they’re worth discussing because people are still falling for them.
    HRC’s new guide is entitled “Coming Home to Evangelicalism and Self,” and purportedly offers ways to “help LGBTQ people live fully in their sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, and to live fully in their religious, spiritual and cultural traditions.” The guide says that LGBTQ Christians “find it difficult to be fully themselves in their church communities. They may have been taught that sexual or romantic relationships that are not heterosexual are sinful…Yet those same LGBTQ people of faith know deep within that they were born this way.”
    Notice the wording there: “…be fully themselves.” … “they know deep within they were born this way.” No argument is made; no scriptural reasoning is offered. Right out of the gate, this pamphlet, timed to coincide with the largest gathering of progressive evangelicals in the country, assumes what it needs to prove.

Repeating the myth that people are nothing more than the sum of their desires, the guide explains the church is “rejecting” LGBT persons by requiring them to be celibate, by barring them from leadership while they’re in same-sex relationships, and by not officiating same-sex wedding ceremonies. The guide quotes David Gushee, author of the book, “Changing Our Mind.” Gushee tells HRC that, “There can be no second-class Christians.” Funny, I don’t know anyone who thinks there are!

It goes on to accuse those of us who hold to historic orthodoxy on sex of putting homosexuals “outside the grace of God.” Let’s be clear: any church that says gay people or any other sinners are beyond the reach of God’s grace is preaching a false and shrunken gospel.

The HRC then explains how self-identified LGBT Christians can change other peoples’ minds about this issue. They insist that experiences, not biblical arguments, will persuade Christians on homosexuality. Well, that I agree with, because biblical arguments for LGBT ideology don’t exist.

To prove my point, I’d like for you to watch this conversation between Sean McDowell, my co-author on a book about same-sex marriage, and Matthew Vines, one of the voices who figures prominently in the HRC booklet. [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFY4VtCWgyI] The topic was specifically whether the Bible supports same-sex relationships. Watch, and consider, who is relying on Scripture for their position, and who is not.

In the pamphlet, a woman who describes herself as a lesbian Christian says she had an “encounter with God,” and that He told her “You’re gay. I made you this way…This is who you are.” She was shocked to find that her church wasn’t buying this. “[T]hey wanted to know how I could scripturally justify what I was telling them,” she says. “They didn’t care so much about this spiritual encounter I’d had with God.” But isn’t that the same thing we ask of Mormons or Muslims or cult leaders who justify explicitly anti-biblical stances based on their experiences?

Folks, this guide and its experience-centric arguments may not convince the listeners of this program, but it will convince others, quite simply because evangelicals—even those who still hold to a historic view of sex and marriage—often do favor experience over the Bible and Christian teaching.

And so we must prioritize sound arguments over experience, or else people will hear and accept a new sexual orthodoxy. And reasoning them back out of that will be tough. They were, after all, never really reasoned into it.

 [italics and colored emphasis mine]

RESOURCES - As John warns, don’t fall for a view of sex and marriage that does not rely on biblical and Christ-centered teaching. Personal experience doesn’t trump the Word of God and His design for humanity. Check out the links below for more discussion on this topic.
Same-Sex Marriage: A Thoughtful Approach to God's Design for Marriage - John Stonestreet, Sean McDowell | Baker Books | 2014 - https://colsoncenter.christianbook.com/same-marriage-thoughtful-approach-gods-design/sean-mcdowell
What Is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense - Sherif Girgis, Ryan T. Anderson, Robert P. George | Encounter Books | 2012 - https://colsoncenter.christianbook.com/what-marriage-man-and-woman-defense/sherif-girgis/9781594036224/pd/036224
"Are Sex and Marriage Issues of Orthodoxy? Yes, they are…" - John Stonestreet | BreakPoint.org | August 21, 2017; http://www.breakpoint.org/2017/08/breakpoint-are-sex-and-marriage-issues-of-orthodoxy/

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PRAYER MATTERS:

"To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world." - Karl Barth; "Prayer is inviting God into a seemingly impossible situation and trusting/resting in His love and grace to accomplish His perfect will in His perfect time and for His greatest glory. Intercession is the one of the great privileges AND responsibilities for EVERY believer." - Stan 

Praying Through the Open Doors World Watch List for persecuted believers:To learn more, please go to -https://www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/monthly-prayer-calendar/

PRAYING FOR THE HORN OF AFRICA - Located in East Africa, the Horn of Africa peninsula includes Muslim-majority countries (and two regions) where Christians are often forced to worship Christ in secret. These believers face some of the most brutal persecution of Christians anywhere, but the Church is adding to its numbers. Throughout July, we’re focusing on this part of the world, and we ask you to join us in praying for the Church in the Horn of Africa.
July 29 | INDIA - Pray with 65-year-old Ravi who is partnering to present Persecution Preparedness seminars throughout northwest India. Pray for his safety and his continued passion for discipling Christians.

#2384 (7/28) PRO-LIFE SAT: "The Pro-Life Movement is Winning the Abortion Battle. Here are 13 Reasons Why"

"THE PRO-LIFE MOVEMENT IS WINNING THE ABORTION BATTLE. HERE ARE 13 REASONS WHY" - Brad Mattes,  JUL 26, 2018 | http://www.lifenews.com/2018/07/26/the-pro-life-movement-is-winning-the-abortion-battle-here-are-13-reasons-why/

    This is a joyful time to be an advocate for unborn babies and their mothers.
We have a pro-life President in the White House and are on the cusp of confirming a Supreme Court nominee who could tip the scales of the court in favor of LIFE.

How have we come this far? The evidence shows we are changing history!
There’s sound justification for optimism because there are multiple reasons why we’re winning the battle to end legal abortion in America.

1) We’re on the second generation of Americans whose first baby picture was taken by ultrasound. These adorable images and videos have been shared with grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends and coworkers. They are displayed on smart phones, key chains, refrigerators and in work cubicles. They’ve been shared through emails, texts, websites and a seemingly infinite number of social media outlets. Each one unmistakably declares the beauty and humanity of the unborn child.

2) The wounded – both mothers and fathers – who have experienced abortion are now some of our best ambassadors on behalf of the babies.

3) The number of former abortion industry workers is also growing. Sharing their stories is changing hearts among their former peers and the public at large.

4) The pro-life movement has become a polished and highly effective grassroots network of local chapters, state organizations, national and international entities that work tirelessly to defend the defenseless. It has also branched out into specialized organizations that reach niche constituencies like teachers, physicians and lawyers. Its diverse breadth represents people of all walks of life including different ethnic, economic or political and faith-based or secular backgrounds.

5) An expansive network of pro-life community health centers offering free resources, medical services, mentoring, job training and a multitude of empowering assistance help young women and men choose life during an unexpected pregnancy.

6) The explosive growth of new technology has given us websites, email, Wi-Fi, texting, and social media that enable us to do an end-run around the biased media and permeate society with the truth about abortion and its alternatives. Tools like smart phones and iPads put video and instant communication at our fingertips 24/7 wherever we go. This allows us to educate, motivate and mobilize pro-lifers in real time.

7) Digitalized pro-life data and persuasive content are now available around the world to anyone with basic technology. One of our four websites has over 5,000 pages of easy-to-use educational information from fertilization to euthanasia.

8) America’s next generation is more pro-life than their parents and demonstrate boundless enthusiasm, boldness and a passion for justice for the babies and their moms. The annual March for Life in Washington, DC consistently attracts over 100,000 participants, an easy two-thirds 25 or younger.

9) The movement includes Blacks and Hispanic/Latinos who, among other things, help expose Planned Parenthood’s agenda of targeting minorities and the disadvantaged.

10) Adoption, traditionally closed and secret, now includes a totally open process or anything in-between. This gives birth mothers a higher comfort level and a plethora of choices available which makes adoption both more appealing and a more viable option to an unexpected pregnancy.

11) Advancements in political advocacy have resulted in the election of a precedent-setting number of pro-life candidates to school boards, city councils, state legislatures, governors, Congress and the White House.

12) As a result, hundreds of pieces of pro-life legislation have passed in states, a compelling factor in reducing the number of abortions to less than any time since Roe v. Wade.

13) These advancements are undergirded by pro-life education, the foundation on which we build pro-life victories. It is responsible for lighting a fire of passion in individuals around the world; enabling elected officials to thrive in the face of withering pro-abortion opposition; and empowering women and men to say no to abortion. It changes hearts and minds of millions of Americans, many who participate in and financially support the movement.

Be encouraged! The cause for LIFE is making dramatic progress.

 [italics and colored emphasis mine]

LifeNews.com Note: Bradley Mattes is the President of Life Issues Institute, a national pro-life educational group.

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Praying Through the Open Doors World Watch List for persecuted believers:To learn more, please go to -https://www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/monthly-prayer-calendar/

PRAYING FOR THE HORN OF AFRICA - Located in East Africa, the Horn of Africa peninsula includes Muslim-majority countries (and two regions) where Christians are often forced to worship Christ in secret. These believers face some of the most brutal persecution of Christians anywhere, but the Church is adding to its numbers. Throughout July, we’re focusing on this part of the world, and we ask you to join us in praying for the Church in the Horn of Africa.
July 28 | UZBEKISTAN - State officials raided a flat where five Protestant women were
meeting together. Pray for believers, like these women, as they live out their faith and attempt to fellowship.

#2383 (7/27) "7 Big Moments From Pence Address on Religious Freedom"

"7 BIG MOMENTS FROM PENCE ADDRESS ON REGLIOUS FREEDOM"- Fred Lucas / @FredLucasWH / July 26, 2018 / https://www.dailysignal.com/2018/07/26/7-big-moments-from-pence-address-on-religious-freedom [AS I SEE IT: As I said in a previous post, you will note the indifference of the mainstream press to religious freedom from the absence of coverage on this important conference. No, they are too busy trying to find something to pin on the Trump administration to note events that could impact untold millions around the world. Shame on them! - Stan]

Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom Thursday at the State Department. (Photo: Alex Wroblewski/Reuters /Newscom)

     Vice President Mike Pence called out Turkey for imprisoning a Christian pastor and criticized Nicaragua for its attacks on the Catholic Church in a speech Thursday, where he also announced the Trump administration’s agenda to protect religious freedom.

“A stunning 83 percent of the world’s population live in nations where religious freedom is either threatened or even banned,” the vice president said at the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom. Held at the State Department, the conference convened religious leaders and rights advocates from around the world to discuss the challenges facing religious freedom.
    “The victims of religious persecution face economic sanctions,” Pence added. “They are often arrested and imprisoned. They are the targets of mob violence, state sanctions terror. All too often, those who beliefs run counter to their rulers face not just persecution but death.”

Vowing the administration will never lose sight of the importance of religious freedom, Pence said it is the “first freedom of everyone in the world.” Pence took swipes at familiar abusers of religious liberty and some unfamiliar regions where it’s rarely noted. Here are seven key points the vice president made.

1. Trump Initiatives Protecting Religious Freedom
     Pence announced two major Trump administration policies, the Genocide Recovery and Persecution Response Program and the International Religious Freedom Fund.
    He denounced the crumbling Islamic State for a “savagery unseen in the Middle East since the Middle Ages,” for the Sunni militant group’s brutal actions against Christians, Jews, Muslims, and particularly brutal treatment of Yazidis. “The suffering of the Yazidi people, and all the victims of ISIS has sickened the American people and mobilized this president and this administration to action,” Pence said. “ … I am proud to report that ISIS is on the run, their caliphate has fallen, and I promise you, we will not rest or relent until ISIS is driven from the face of the Earth.”
   Pence explained winning in combat is not enough, and the administration has committed $110 million to help persecuted religious groups rebuild. Under the Genocide Recovery and Persecution Response Program, the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development will partner with local faith and community leaders to deliver aid to persecuted communities, beginning with Iraq, Pence said.
   The administration is also kicking off an international effort to prevent religious persecution abroad, called the International Religious Freedom Fund.“America is proud to launch and support this program and we’re earnest in our appeal to all the nations gathered here and around the world that you might join us in this fund,” Pence said. “Together, we will champion the cause of liberty as never before.”

2. Warning to Turkey Over Jailed Pastor
    Earlier Thursday, President Donald Trump threatened sanctions against Turkey for jailing an American Christian pastor, Andrew Brunson, 50. After a year and a half behind bars, Turkey transferred him to house arrest. Turkish law enforcement arrested the pastor in 2016 on the charge of “dividing and separating” Turkey as part of a large-scale crackdown of thousands after a failed coup. He faces up to 15 years detention.
    “To President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan and the Turkish government, I have a message on behalf of the president of the United States of America: Release Pastor Andrew Brunson now, or be prepared to face the consequences,” Pence said to applause. “If Turkey does not take immediate action to free this innocent man of faith and send him home to America, the United States will impose significant sanctions on Turkey until Pastor Andrew Brunson is free.”
    Pence talked to the pastor’s wife, Norine, on Wednesday. The pastor’s daughter, Jacqueline, was in the audience at the State Department event Thursday. Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu responded in a tweet: “No one dictates Turkey. We will never tolerate threats from anybody. Rule of law is for everyone; no exception.”

3. ‘Waging War on the Catholic Church’
   Pence also hit closer to home. “Here in our hemisphere, in Nicaragua, the government of Daniel Ortega is virtually waging war on the Catholic Church,” Pence said. Pence noted that 350 Nicaraguans have died in the cause of freedom this year. “For months, Nicaragua’s bishops have sought to foster a national dialogue, following pro-democracy protests that swept through the country earlier this year,” Pence continued. “But government-backed mobs armed with machetes and even heavy weapons have attacked perishes and church property. Bishops and priests have been physically assaulted by police.”

4. Critiques Amid Diplomatic Outreach
    Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June and with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week. During his speech on religious freedom, Pence criticized both countries.
    “Contrasting with a thriving Christian community in South Korea, North Korea’s persecution of Christians has no rival. It is unforgiving, systematic, unyielding,” Pence said. “The mere possession of a Christian Bible is a capital offense. Those identified by the regime as Christians are regularly executed or condemned with their families to North Korea’s gulags.”
    Regarding Russia, Pence noted how the Putin government has treated Jehovah’s Witnesses.
“In Russia more than 170,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses face similar persecution,” Pence said. “They are legally banned from practicing their faith. Government agents have seized Jehovah’s Witnesses headquarters near St. Petersburg, raided their prayer halls across the country, and arrested and imprisoned scores of believers.”

5. Anti-Semitism in Europe
    The vice president also raised concerns in an unexpected continent.“Threats to religious minorities are not confined to autocracies and dictatorships,” Pence said. “They can and do arise in free societies as well. Not from government persecutions but from prejudice and hatred.”
    In 2017, hate crimes against Jews were on a record high in Britain, Pence said. Meanwhile, he noted Jewish leaders in France and Germany have warned religious adherents not to wear religious identifiable clothing. “In Europe, where religious freedom was born as a principle and enshrined in law, sadly, religious intolerance is on the rise,” he said. “Just 70 years after the Holocaust, attacks on Jews, even aging Holocaust survivors are growing at an alarming rate.”

6. Iran Regime vs. People of Iran
    In Iran, where the Trump administration recently withdrew from a multilateral nuclear deal, Pence talked about oppression by the Shia majority. “The Iranian people enjoy few, if any, freedoms, least of all the freedom of religion,” Pence said. “Christians, Jews, Sunnis, Baha’is, and other minority religious groups are denied the most basic rights enjoyed by the Shia majority, and they are routinely fined, flogged, arrested, assaulted, and even killed.”
    In 2016, Iranians arrested 20 Sunni Kurds on the charge of “waging war against God,” for practicing their beliefs that didn’t conform with the Iran regime’s beliefs, Pence said. “Even as we stand strong against the threats and malign actions of your leaders in Tehran, know that we are with you,” Pence said to the people of Iran. “We pray for you and we urge you, the good people of Iran, to press on with courage in the cause of freedom and a peaceful future for your people.”

7. China’s ‘Re-Education Camps’
    The State Department has labeled China, the world’s most populous country, as a religious freedom violator every year since 1999. “Together with other religious minorities, Buddhists, Muslims, and Christians, are often under attack,” Pence said. He referred to a Buddhist monk in the crowd who has faced religious persecution, and then went on to talk about the Uighur Muslims, a group of Muslims concentrated in Asia.
    “Beijing is holding hundreds of thousands and possibly millions of Uighurs Muslims in so called re-education camps, where they are forced to endure around the clock political indoctrination to denounce their religious beliefs and their cultural identity,” Pence said.

[italics and colored emaphasis mine]

"Why the Potomac Declaration Is 'Truly Historic' for Religious Freedom" - CBNNews.com,07-27-2018; http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/cwn/2018/july/why-the-potomac-declaration-is-truly-historic-for-religious-freedom
     "The State Department's Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom [3-day conference in Washington  DC just ended] has released a statement and a comprehensive plan of action to promote global religious freedom. Their new Potomac Declaration calls for global religious rights, contending that people should be allowed to change their religious beliefs, and that oppressive measures like Islamic blasphemy laws should be repealed. 'I'm not aware of any set of documents issued by any state in modern history that so comprehensively and practically address the actual implications of a real commitment to religious liberty as these documents do. They are truly historic,' said religious freedom advocate Johnnie Moore who participated in the summit.'" [Please go to the weblink to read the Declaration.]
"U.S. Puts Its Money Where Its Freedom Is" - Tony Perkins, Washington Watch,July 26, 2018; https://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=WA18G38&f=WU18G14

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Praying Through the Open Doors World Watch List for persecuted believers:To learn more, please go to -https://www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/monthly-prayer-calendar/

PRAYING FOR THE HORN OF AFRICA - Located in East Africa, the Horn of Africa peninsula includes Muslim-majority countries (and two regions) where Christians are often forced to worship Christ in secret. These believers face some of the most brutal persecution of Christians anywhere, but the Church is adding to its numbers. Throughout July, we’re focusing on this part of the world, and we ask you to join us in praying for the Church in the Horn of Africa.
July 27 | NIGERIA - Pray with Esther, a survivor of Boko Haram captivity who was kidnapped and raped by the Islamic extremist group. Esther’s captivity left her with deep emotional wounds. Pray also for her daughter, Rebecca, conceived from rape.

#2382 (7/26) "Mourning Bastille Day - “Reason’s” Radical Assault on Christianity"

"MOURNING BASTILLE DAY - 'REASON'S' RADICAL ASSAULT ON CHRISTIANTIY" - by Eric Metaxas and Anne Morse, Breakpoint.org, July 24, 2018; http://www.breakpoint.org/2018/07/breakpoint-mourning-bastille-day/ [AS I SEE IT: This article makes me curious as to what is not only taught in our universitities today but also in our high schools and even middle schools about events such as Bastille Day. Are students taught the whole story or just what the educators of the day choose to emphasize and are given no insight of what is chosen to be ignored. - Stan]

     We say all the time on BreakPoint that reason and faith go hand in glove. But in revolutionary France, the disciples of reason unleashed one of the bloodiest revolutions in history.

Last week, fireworks exploded over Paris, lighting up the Eiffel Tower. French citizens were celebrating the two-hundred and twenty-ninth anniversary of Bastille Day, a holiday recalling the storming of the Bastille fortress at the beginning of the French Revolution.

But not everyone in France was celebrating—and with good reason.

While people tend to view the French Revolution in a positive light, many of its darker elements have been forgotten, or suppressed. As my friend John Zmirak wrote in Crisis magazine, Bastille Day “marks the beginning of the greatest organized persecution of Christians since” the fourth century. And he argues that these brutal attacks spawned the killing sprees carried out by revolutionary leaders over the next two hundred years.

French radicals inspired by secular, Enlightenment philosophy, wanted to expunge all religious influence and replace it with “reason.” This ideal was exemplified at Notre Dame, where revolutionaries removed Christian symbols and replaced them with “Goddesses of Reason”—women dressed provocatively in Roman attire who danced about the cathedral—now a Temple of Reason. All clergy were ordered to declare allegiance to the state rather than the church.

Catholic peasants in the Vendee region revolted; Some 300,000 of these rebels were killed, most in terrible ways. It was, writes historian Francois Furet, “massacre and destruction on an unprecedented scale” and revealed “a zeal so violent that it has bestowed as its legacy much of the region’s identity.”

 Ironically, Zmirak notes, the French monarchy helped sow the seeds of its own destruction back in 1767, when the King began the suppression of the Jesuits because they were loyal first to Rome and not to the crown. 
     The result: Children who would have been educated at Jesuit schools instead had their heads filled with Enlightenment teachings. They reached maturity right around 1789—the year the French Revolution began. Having been taught vicious lies about the behavior of nuns and priests, they heartily approved of their slaughter.

And the atrocities didn’t stop with French revolutionaries. In 1993, Soviet dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn spoke at the opening ceremonies of a museum in Vendee dedicated to the memory of those who were butchered two hundred years before. He noted that Russia’s Communist leaders “studiously re-enacted on the body of Russia many of the French revolution’s cruelest methods.”

Nazi leaders also took a page out of the French revolutionary playbook: In France, radicals made off with church property, claiming that they were merely engaging in “secularization.” One hundred and fifty years later, the Nazis stole Jewish property, and called what they were doing “aryanization.”

Today, secular academics celebrate Enlightenment thinking, crediting its embrace of “reason” above all else for great advances in science. But lost is the full story of what happens when “reason” is enshrined above all else: a bloodbath so terrible that, even today, citizens of Vendee wear black armbands on Bastille Day.

And this is what we ought to remember when we see efforts to drive religion—and religious believers—from the public square. In America, hostility toward the faithful is at an all-time high. And—as with the French Revolution—we ‘re seeing determined efforts to force Christians to, in effect, pledge allegiance to the state over the church.

    On Bastille Day, we ought to remember the victims of the French Revolution, and remind our neighbors what really happened during the years the French fought for liberté, égalité, and fraternité: Revolution attacked religion, and God was replaced with the guillotine.

 [italics and colored emphasis mine]

RESOURCES
"Bastille Day: Baptism by Blood" - John Zmirak | Crisis Magazine | July 15, 2008; https://www.crisismagazine.com/2008/bastille-day-baptism-by-blood
"The Vendee Uprising" - Jennifer Llewellyn and Steve Thompson | AlphaHistory.com | 2018; https://alphahistory.com/frenchrevolution/vendee-uprising/

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July 26 | PAKISTAN - Each year, an estimated 700 girls and women are abducted in Pakistan. Some have been sexually abused, forcefully married to Muslims and made to convert to Islam. Pray for safety and protection for the Christian women and girls in Pakistan. 

#2381 (7/25) "Military's 'Don't Ask' the Turning Point in a Bigger War"

"MILITARY'S 'DON'T ASK ' THE TURNING POINT IN A BIGGER WAR" - Tony Perkins, Washington Watch, July 19, 2018; https://www.frc.org/updatearticle/20180719/dont-ask

     To most people, July 19th is just another day. If you asked them what happened on this date 25 years ago, only a handful would probably know that President Bill Clinton made "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" the policy for America's military. Even fewer would know that the summer of 1993 help set into motion a quarter-century war on marriage and the family.

Looking back on those days, most Americans are probably nostalgic for the days when sexuality wasn't something people broadcasted. Back then, even the most liberal activists just wanted to "get the government out of their bedroom." How far we've fallen. 

Now, two decades later, they want to take what happens in the bedroom and force Americans to celebrate it -- at work, church, school, even (and especially) in government. Who knew 25 years ago that Christians would long for the days when everyone just went about their lives?

There were groups like FRC [Family Research Council] who recognized "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" for what it was: the first major crack in the foundation of marriage and human sexuality. Then, the next biggest shoe would drop -- Lawrence v. Texas, the Supreme Court ruling that struck down Texas's ban on sodomy. The late Justice Antonin Scalia warned where their mistake would lead: "State laws against bigamy, same-sex marriage, adult incest, prostitution, masturbation, adultery, fornication, bestiality, and obscenity are likewise sustainable only in light of Bowers' validation of laws based on moral choices. Every single one of these laws is called into question by today's decision; the Court makes no effort to cabin the scope of its decision to exclude them from its holding."
    With prophetic insight, he explained how six justices had just given the far-Left the only hammer they'd need to destroy thousands of years of human history. Anyone being intellectually honest knew this was where LGBT extremists were pushing America. Of course, for years the media laughed off groups like FRC who warned that the Left's goal isn't same-sex marriage but any kind of marriage. Establishment Republicans didn't buy it, insisting there were plenty of laws on the books to keep the redefinition of marriage from happening.

They were wrong. Three years since the decision that redefined marriage for America, the Left is still bulldozing their way through every possible social norm. The country finally realized -- too late -- that this isn't about two people who love each other. It's about obliterating every moral and cultural boundary humans have ever known. And fortunately, some activists are finally doing us a favor by admitting it.
     First, it was "time to legalize polygamy" -- an agenda the far-Left flatly denied, only to go on a normalization campaign that's helped boost the acceptability of group marriage from seven percent in 2010 to 19 percent now. Then, there was the rejection of basic biology, a fight that's broken out in sports, schools, Scouts, bathrooms, changing rooms, gyms, and locker rooms around the country. Gender, they tell us, is flexible. The same "they" who said they'd draw the line at same-sex marriage. Then today, we see just how imaginary that line has become with the news that child sex is the next "norm" on the horizon. 
    At a TED Talk earlier this summer, medical student Mirjam Heine insisted to a crowd that "our perception of pedophilia has to change." "Anyone could be born a pedophile," she told them. It's just another "unchangeable sexual orientation just like, for example, heterosexuality." Using the same born-that-way playbook as LGBT activists, she's trying to legitimize child abuse as the latest acceptable expression of sexuality. "Just like pedophiles, we are not responsible for our feelings," she said. "We do not choose them... but it is our responsibility to... overcome our negative feelings about pedophiles and to treat them with the same respect we treat other people with." I agree we should treat everyone with respect, but overcoming our negative feelings about child sex? Seriously? What we need to overcome is our sin nature -- and that will never happen when we normalize it.

It was an astonishingly honest look at where this debate -- and the world, if we're not careful -- is headed. The movement that promised to quit once it won marriage through the courts doesn't bother pretending anymore. The only limits that exist are your own reality -- unless you're a Christian. And then it isn't "live and let live;" it's conform or be punished.

    Once you've rejected basic biology and 2,000 years of civilization, there are no boundaries. Surely, the world has learned its lesson since the first walls came tumbling down in 1993. First, activists said they just wanted to love who they loved. Then, they said they just wanted benefits -- not marriage. When liberals got marriage through the courts, they vowed not to force it on the states. After they forced it on the states, they said it wouldn't lead to religious persecution. Even after county clerks were sent to jail and Christian bakers fined up to $135,000, they claim there's no slippery slope. But after a track record of such intentional deception, who could (or should) believe them?

[italics and colored emphasis mine]

July 25 | INDIA - Pray with Christian widow Chandan Devi and her four children. Chandan lost her husband, Aadarsh, when Naxalite militants attacked and killed him. After his death,

she fled her village and lives in seclusion.

#2380 (7/24) "Pompeo Rolls out the Welcome Mat for World Leaders"

"POMPEO ROLLS OUT THE WELCOME MAT FOR  WORLD LEADERS" - Tony Perkins, Washington Watch, July 23, 2018; https://www.frc.org/updatearticle/20180723/welcome-mat [AS I SEE IT: Call me cynical but I just believe I'm realistic when I say that I don't expect the mainstream media to make much if any mention of this significant conference. Sadly, they would rather focus their attention on something else they can spin to reflect negatively on the Trump administration. Shame on them! for not taking time to see the implications of such events as this on improving the state of our world, and not just on the issue of religious liberty. - Stan]

     The State Department's first-ever ministerial on religious freedom doesn't begin until Tuesday, but the event may have already been a success! That's because, as FRC's Travis Weber points out in a new column [see reference below], the most important thing may not be what happens at there, but that it happened at all.
   "The very fact that the Ministerial is being held sends a signal that the United States is taking religious freedom seriously," he writes. "Let us not underestimate the power of this message." The rest of the world certainly doesn't. As State Department gears up to host government officials, representatives of international organizations, religious leaders, rights advocates, and members of civil society organizations from around the world, the significance of the moment isn't lost on anyone. After all, Ambassador Sam Brownback points out, "This has not happened ever in the world."

Three months into his new job as secretary, Mike Pompeo has put his stamp on plenty of foreign policy. But this decision to bring the world together on one of the greatest human rights crises of our time might be a turning point for millions of people. "The human dignity, the human right attached to religious freedom I feel personally, and I know President Trump does as well," Pompeo has said in the lead-up to this week's summit. Of course, just because leaders sit down and talk about it doesn't mean the problem of religious persecution will just magically disappear. But it could go a long way to starting a dialogue in some countries that, until now, have been very unwilling to discuss the topic.

"Not every country will achieve the level of religious freedom that we have here in the United States," Pompeo explained. "But we think we can advance it all across the world by bringing together folks from all faiths, and frankly, those who have no faith, but their capacity to practice religion in the way they choose is important for the world." Although the complete list of participating nations hasn't been released to the public, Brownback says he was pleasantly surprised by some of the names on the list -- including some countries who don't exactly have a stellar record on the topic. This event, he points out, gives the U.S. a chance to do more to engage them.

"We've had a process of more of a name-and-shame process where we would identify bad actors and we would shame them and that's about [all] that would end up happening. What we're trying to do – we are still going to name bad actors -- but we want them to come and say, 'Let's work together to get off of this [watch] list. We'll put in effort and you put in effort toward this." Considering that religious freedom cuts against instability and decreases the likelihood of terrorism, everyone in the world has a stake in the ministerial succeeding.

"For years," Sam said, "the foreign policy establishment has really not wanted to engage on the issue of religion... not being sure how to handle it or what to do. But now, you are seeing more people saying that it is a key component for what is taking place in the world today, and we've just got to deal with this." Behind closed doors, the Trump administration is already prioritizing the issue more than anyone knows. As Pompeo told CBN, "I want your viewers to know that the United States rarely has an encounter with a country where we don't raise human rights concerns where they exist."

After the eight years of the Obama administration, we're more appreciative than ever for President Trump's emphasis on religious liberty. With all of the issues competition for the world's attention, Travis explains, Americans are grateful the White House isn't overlooking one of the most important.

[italics and colored emphasis mine]
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"With State Department Ministerial, Trump Administration Signals Seriousness on Religious Freedom" -  Travis Weber: Jul 23, 2018; https://townhall.com/columnists/travisweber/2018/07/23/with-state-department-ministerial--trump-administration-signals-seriousness-on-religious-freedom
"Victims of Religious Persecution Tell Their Stories at International Conference in DC" - Katherine Rohloff/ July 23, 2018 / https://www.dailysignal.com/2018/07/23/victims-of-religious-persecution-tell-their-stories-at-international-conference-in-dc/

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July 24 | TAJIKISTAN - Recently, authorities began a series of raids on congregations belonging to the Sunmin Sunbogym Protestant Church, confiscating Christian songbooks and other literature. Pray with Christians who are under surveillance by authorities.

#2379 (7/23) "Judge Rules Trump Administration Can Defund Planned Parenthood Abortion Biz"

"JUDGE RULES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CAN DEFUND PLANNED PARENTHOOD ABORTION BIZ" - Steven Ertelt, JUL 17, 2018 | http://www.lifenews.com/2018/07/17/judge-rules-trump-administration-can-defund-planned-parenthood-abortion-biz/

     A federal judge has ruled in favor of the Trump Administration and its impending decision to defund the Planned Parenthood abortion business from the nation's Title X family planning program. The Planned Parenthood abortion company has multiple federal funding streams, but cutting off the taxpayer dollars it gets from Title X would zap its second largest source of federal funding.

At issue are new guidelines for Title X grants, which fund family planning programs across the country. In February, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services introduced a new grant application that prioritizes sexual risk avoidance strategies, including abstinence. That decision would leave abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood out of the funding equation.

Even though HHS is only in the grant-making phase of the process and has yet to formally deny funding to the abortion giant, Planned Parenthood went ahead and sued anyway. Planned Parenthood’s legal challenge claims the new guidelines in the Federal Opportunity Announcement (FOA) will put low-income patients at risk. The abortion group receives about $50 million to $60 million in taxpayer-funded Title X grants.

Today, a federal judge ruled Planned Parenthood filed it’s lawsuit prematurely before it had been defunded. “The Plaintiffs ask this Court to intervene before anything of legal effect has occurred,” wrote McFadden in a 38-page opinion. “Courts cannot review substantive objections to a non-final agency action, nor can they require formal rulemaking for change in agency procedure.”
    Going further, McFadden said the department soundly argued that the policy change was about “how an agency decision will be made, and is not a final agency action itself.” Because of that distinction, Planned Parenthood does not yet have grounds for the agency’s policy to be reviewed, the judge wrote. “This announcement was simply a solicitation of offers, kicking off an application process that will result in legally binding contracts only after offers are accepted and grants are awarded,” McFadden wrote.

In February, Valerie Huber, acting deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Population Affairs at HHS, said their goal is to fund Title X programs that effectively teach sexual risk avoidance. “This is a program that’s important to the administration and we think its really important to make some meaningful changes to extend the coverage of the program,” Huber said.

Students for Life of America President Kristan Hawkins slammed the lawsuit as based in “greed.” “Planned Parenthood and abortion vendors seem terrified that people will discover just how easy it will be to live a healthy life without them,” Hawkins said. “People make many medical choices that don’t include Planned Parenthood, and the Trump Administration is to be commended for attempting to redirect Title X dollars away from abortion vendors. … The greed of the abortion lobby is on display as once again they go to court to force taxpayers to fund their enterprise.”

Mallory Quigley, vice president of communications at Susan B. Anthony List, also criticized the abortion group for having an entitlement mentality. “Clearly they view the Title X Family Planning Program as their personal slush fund,” Quigley told NPR, “to which only they are entitled for propping up their massive abortion enterprise.”

There is little evidence that Planned Parenthood’s programs have reduced sexual health risks and teen pregnancies. In 2017, the Trump administration also cut millions of dollars in grants to Planned Parenthood through the failed Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program. HHS spokesman Mark Vafiades told the New York Times last year that there is very little evidence that the program was successful. However, Planned Parenthood also is suing over those cuts.

Planned Parenthood is the largest abortion business in America, aborting approximately 320,000 unborn babies every year. Its most recent annual report showed a record income of $1.46 billion, with about half a billion dollars coming from taxpayers.
   Its sex education programs repeatedly have been questioned and rejected by concerned parents and school administrators across the country.

In February, CBS also highlighted a group of North Carolina parents’ concerns. They said Planned Parenthood’s “Get Real” curriculum “encourages sixth graders to feel ‘comfortable and ready’ for sex. The petition says the curriculum provides flash cards outlining proper condom usage, for ‘vaginal, oral or anal sex’ and recommends the usage of ‘non-microwavable saran wrap’ as a prophylactic for certain non-reproductive sex acts.”

In 2014, Live Action released an undercover video series showing Planned Parenthood employees encouraging young teens to participate in sado-masochistic sexual activities, including gagging, whipping, asphyxiation, shopping at sex stores and viewing pornography.

[italics and colored emphasis mine]
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Background to this article by Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council - "I’ve written about how HHS proposed a new regulation for the Title X family planning program to ensure that taxpayer dollars stay out of the abortion industry. Right now, regulations allow programs to receive Title X family planning funds—annually $286 million--even if they perform abortions or provide abortion referrals in the same location as their Title X activities. While they can’t use federal dollars for abortion, we should not be subsidizing these organizations unless their abortion practices are completely separate from the federal family planning program."

"The reason for this abortion subsidy is that President Clinton changed the Reagan regulations to allow abortions to be performed at the same location as the Title X family planning activities. Worse yet, it mandates that all Title X funding recipients provide abortion referrals! As a result, Title X has been pouring millions of dollars into the abortion industry for decades. Planned Parenthood alone receives $60 million annually from the Title X program. And pro-life organizations refusing to provide abortion referrals are disqualified from applying for Title X funds."

"The proposed HHS rule seeks to change all that by once again requiring Title X recipients to conduct their family planning services at locations that do not perform abortions. The rule would also remove the mandate for abortion referrals, allowing pro-life organizations to once again apply for funding."