NORTH CENTRAL OHIO – January Eleventh is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. With the nation’s borders wide open to human smugglers, one region’s faith community has been a driving force combating sex trafficking. When it comes to the I-71 corridor, these faith leaders believe it is either ‘GOD’s way or the highway.’
While the region is no stranger to pornography addiction, two brick and mortar sexually-oriented businesses along Interstate 71 have closed down. With the defunct businesses only thirty-eight miles apart, clergy in the area refuse to take a backseat to the sex trafficking problem.
In May 2021, an exotic dance club at 2921 Crider Road beside I-71 closed its doors. (Photo courtesy of Richland County Auditor)
“The culture war is best defined not by the issues we battle but rather by the calling the Church has to be salt and light,” says Ashland Pastor John Bouquet. “Just like with popcorn, it does not take a lot of salt to change the flavoring of something. If the Church becomes salt and light, it will literally change the flavor of a culture.”
It appears peoples’ tastes are indeed changing along one major thoroughfare in the state.
In 2021, Showtime strip club near the State Route 30/I-71 interchange in Richland County closed its doors. The property was bought and repurposed as Ronks’ Towing company. The exotic dance club had previously been a hub for prostitution and drug use for most of its thirty-year history-that is until recently.
The club’s owner, Donna Holbrook, had an encounter with Christ in 2019, changing the path of her life and changing her career. Her new direction brought her from a former dancer/owner of two strip clubs to a new creation in Christ. She began to help other women ensnared in the sex industry encouraging them to attend church and to start a new job path. In 2020, she closed the first of her two clubs located in Nevada, Ohio.
“To the the natural eye, it makes no sense for an exotic dance club to close its doors beside an interstate highway with one hundred thousand motorists driving past it every day. That is unless the owner of the strip club commits her heart to Christ.”
Pastor John Bouquet
Nine months prior to the property sale, clergy representing seventy-four local congregations presented a resolution for the local board of health to declare pornography addiction as a “public health crisis.” The extensive clergy resolution chronicled the community’s opposition to pornography and described its affiliation with human trafficking. While the health board rejected the pastors’ request, in the long run, it really did not matter.
Almost one year later, The Lion’s Den, a sexual novelty store located along the State Route 61/I-71 interchange closed to make room for a new Sheetz gas station.
“With the closure of two sexually-oriented businesses in an area, I think it demonstrates how important it is to have a community effort,” says Pastor Steve Brenneman and former Morrow County Sheriff for twelve years. “It is important to note that for many years, the neighborhood at the Marengo exit had a billboard beside the business disapproving of the sex novelty store. There are secondary adverse effects associated with sexually-oriented businesses that bring dysfunction to society. Down the road, these businesses become crime magnets for human trafficking and other illicit behavior if left unchecked.”
In June 2022, a pornography store at 511 State Rt 61 beside I-71 closedits doors (Photo courtesy of Morrow County Auditor)
To prevent easy access to surrounding land around I-71, nearby township trustee boards in Morrow County are passing restrictive regulations written by the State Attorney General (AG)’s office to put the brakes on future potential sex businesses. The Ohio AG will represent the jurisdiction in the event of legal challenges. Ten municipalities and thirteen of the eighteen townships in adjacent Richland County also passed these criminal and licensing ordinances.
Historically, the clergy have engaged the culture war on human trafficking from the spiritual side. In 2015, sixty-six clergymen called for a day of prayer and repentance for the the societal sin of immorality; specifically the use of pornography. Subsequently, “Pornography Awareness Week” was declared by eight out of nine communities across Richland County the following year. In 2017, fourteen clergy assisted the police in the closure of a local clandestine brothel. That tip helped uncover a criminal network of sex trafficking leading to a raid of another brothel in Lancaster, Ohio.
Bouquet says, “To the the natural eye, it makes no sense for an exotic dance club to close its doors beside an interstate highway with one hundred thousand motorists driving past it every day. That is unless the owner of the strip club commits her heart to Christ. In a community, you really do not have to change everything for everything to change.”
If you have information on a sex trafficking situation, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888. You can also text the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 233733.
The Bottom Line:
The Bible says in JobChapter Twenty-Two, “Declare a matter and it shall be established and light will shine on your ways.”
SHELBY — Biology didn’t used to be this confusing. The Ohio Legislature voted ten separate times to preserve biological restrooms from proposed LGBTQ changes. Just this past December, the State Board of Education passed a resolution opposing the radical redefinition of gender. Despite these facts, the Shelby City School Administration decided to overhaul the district’s longstanding one-hundred-fifty year practice of biological restrooms.
This policy shift has upset clergy and parents alike who say people cannot choose their gender when they cannot change their chromosomes. In response to the public outcry, the district may be looking to make a quick fix.
The Shelby City School district has received criticism for not telling a father his son changed “gender identities”while at school. (Photo courtesy of Frontlines Ohio)
“Facts are stubborn things, verbal statements do not change biological facts,” Pastor Kevin Evans told the Shelby School Board Tuesday night. “Whatever the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the states of facts and evidence. It is the duty of every man to detect and expose delusion and error. As the School Board, you took it upon yourselves to defy clergy and parents with your asinine policy and have entered the land of make-believe. Does the rights of boys who think they are girls trump the rights of girls who are born girls? I think not. Unfortunately, the danger is very real and the stakes are very high. School boards are elected, and they can be unelected.”
Seven of the twelve persons who spoke during the public comment called for biological school restrooms. One in the minority claimed there was no empirical evidence that attacks increase with transgenders using the opposite biological restroom.
To the contrary, a gender-identity school restroom became a crime scene this past fall in Edmond, Oklahoma. According to police, a biological male student came at a female student with clenched fists, pulled her hair, and threw her to the ground. The victim said she was “too weak to fight back.” Another female said she intervened to stop the fight because the attacker “is a man,” but said the male punched her in the face twice. The police report described the second female as having sustained a “possible concussion.”
“Without question, parents should be included in the decisions of their child’s medical and social well-being during school hours. Educators should not view parents as an obstacle. Ultimately this issue will not be settled at community meetings but rather at the ballot box.”
Pastor Rick Lewis
With the Loudon County, Virginia incidents still fresh on peoples’ minds, and with the Target restroom policy the clergy cited in their letter to the school board, evidence may suggest otherwise.
Pastor Doug Tackett commented, “The faith community is asking for the Board to reverse its restroom policy immediately. This policy endangers the safety of our children. In past board meetings there have been students who have shared their opposition to this policy. It seems you have made this a political issue. We too have a voice in this city and have other courses of action we can take. You will want our help if you want the passage of future school levies. If you are not willing to hear our voice, please resign.”
Another resident noted in geographical areas where transgenderism is most celebrated, no reduction in suicide rates among the transgender community is seen. “Why do we continue to enable this mental health illness? The idea that gender affirming care will prevent suicides is a farce according to the Anderson School of UCLA. This false premise is being used to further a political agenda at the cost of these individuals.” says Dustin Hovatter.
In response to complaints about the district’s policy, Superintendent Tim Tarvin reported after public comment, the Board decided in executive session to consider retrofitting the high school restrooms to make them more private.
School Board President Lorie White gives oath to uphold U.S. Constitution in Tuesday’s Board meeting. The seat of the four-term incumbant is up for election this coming November. (Photo courtesy of Frontlines Ohio)
The school district is also in hot water for not telling a parent his child changed “gender identities.” The father of the biological boy involved in the November 17th incident in the girls’ restroom addressed the board of education Tuesday night.
“I did not know this stuff was going on for a year. The only way I knew is when you guys called me and told me my “Alexis” (renamed) was going off to school. I did not catch it until the end. I believe in the Bible and I do not respect what my boy is doing….you all would not want your little girl in the bathroom with a guy,” the father said.
One of the pastors attending the meeting believes the School Administration should not be keeping secrets from parents.
“My heart goes out to that father tonight.” says Pastor Rick Lewis. “Without question, parents should be included in the decisions of their child’s medical and social well-being during school hours. Educators should not view parents as an obstacle. Ultimately this issue will not be settled at community meetings but rather at the ballot box.”
The Bottom Line:
The Bible saysin Proverbs Chapter One, “Hear my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.”
Click on the image below to view a video from Fox News Digital of Bishop Anthony Cooper explaining the Shelby City School District faulty restroom policy is to blame for an incident that occurred between a biological boy and a girl in the girls’ restroom (5:31 min).
“Separating school bathrooms based on biological sex passes constitutional muster and comports with Title IX,” held the Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on Friday. Their decision upheld the policy of the school board in St. Johns County, Florida (St. Augustine), which was challenged by a student who identifies as transgender, claiming that the policy violated both the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and Title IX.
Joshua Arnold (Photo courtesy of The Washington Stand)
After a three-day trial in 2017, the federal district court for the Middle District of Florida ruled against the school district policy on both counts. In 2020, a three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit affirmed the district court ruling against the school. However, that opinion failed to gain the necessary approval of the entire (11-member) circuit court, which agreed to rehear the case.
“When we are thinking about education in less developed nations, the right of women and girls to education is not questioned. Best practice guides in those situations require facilities for women and girls specifically,” Meg Kilgannon, Family Research Council’s (FRC) senior fellow for Education Studies, told The Washington Stand. “But in the ‘developed west’ we face a situation where legal activists are challenging the right of women and girls to bathrooms or locker rooms based on biological sex. “
Upon rehearing the case, seven members of the 11th Circuit Court found that the school district’s policy of separating school bathrooms according to biological sex did not violate the Equal Protection Clause nor Title IX.
Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals rules biological school restrooms are constitutional. (Photo courtesy of Pixabay)
“The protection of students’ privacy interests in using the bathroom away from the opposite sex and in shielding their bodies from the opposite sex is obviously an important governmental objective,” they stated. “The School Board’s bathroom policy is clearly related to — indeed, is almost a mirror of — its objective of protecting the privacy interests of students.” These are the two requirements of intermediate scrutiny, the standard by which federal courts evaluate sex-based discrimination claims. “To satisfy intermediate scrutiny, the bathroom policy must (1) advance an important governmental objective and (2) be substantially related to that objective,” they explained. Check, and check.
The circuit court refuted the arguments of the district court and dissenting judges that privacy concerns extended only to restroom stalls, and not to the entire restroom. They noted the district court could only reach their erroneous conclusion by “minimizing the factual and practical realities of how the sex-separated bathrooms operate.” For example, “students change in the bathrooms and, in the male bathrooms, use undivided urinals.” Thus, “the privacy interests are not confined to the individual stalls in those bathrooms.”
Nor is restroom privacy an issue distinct from biological sex, continued the court. “The privacy interests hinge on using the bathroom away from the opposite sex and shielding one’s body from the opposite sex, not using the bathroom in privacy. Were it the latter, then only single-stall, sex-neutral bathrooms would pass constitutional muster. But that is not the law.” In fact, the court reasoned that such arguments were actually confusing the issue at hand (the legality of a “policy of assigning bathrooms based on sex”) with a separate issue, whether sex-separated bathrooms are legal at all.
“This case is not a case about ‘the legality of separating bathrooms by sex,’” the court wrote. “The privacy afforded by sex-separated bathrooms has been widely recognized throughout American history and jurisprudence.”
After concluding the school board’s policy “does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of sex,” the court also concluded (in separate analysis) that it does not discriminate against transgender students. On this point, it faulted the district court, which “never properly conducted the requisite intermediate scrutiny analysis” before drawing a conclusion. The court argued that “transgender status and gender identity are wholly absent from the bathroom policy’s classification [according to biological sex]. And both sides of the classification … include transgender students.”
“The district court itself noted that the School Board did not even ‘have transgender students in mind when it originally established separate multi-stall restrooms for boys and girls.’” In fact, the court noted, the school district accommodated the small minority of students who identified as transgender (16 out of 40,000, or 0.04%) by authorizing “the use of sex-neutral bathrooms as part of its Best Practices Guidelines for LGBTQ issues.”
Joshua Arnold, Staff writer for the Washington Stand
“There is no evidence suggesting that the School Board enacted the bathroom policy ‘because of . . . its adverse effects upon’ transgender students,” the court added. “The district court itself noted that the School Board did not even ‘have transgender students in mind when it originally established separate multi-stall restrooms for boys and girls.’” In fact, the court noted, the school district accommodated the small minority of students who identified as transgender (16 out of 40,000, or 0.04%) by authorizing “the use of sex-neutral bathrooms as part of its Best Practices Guidelines for LGBTQ issues.”
The court noted that the school district made the decision to keep their sex-separated bathrooms and offer a sex-neutral accommodation after extensive study, and their decision “was motivated, in part, by the issue of gender fluidity in which students may switch between genders with which they identify.” What one student who identified as transgender took as a personal affront was a policy really designed to accommodate a different portion of the extremely heterogenous LGBT+ “community.”
The circuit court also found that the school board’s restroom policy did not violate Title IX. Designed “to prohibit sex discrimination in education,” Title IX also “provides an express carve-out with respect to living facilities,” noted the court, including “separate toilet, locker room, and shower facilities on the basis of sex,” so long as those facilities are proportionate in quantity and comparable in quantity.
Once again, the circuit court refuted the district court’s reasoning, which found that the definition of “sex” in Title IX was “ambiguous” as applied to students who identify as transgender. “If sex were ambiguous, it is difficult to fathom why the drafters of Title IX went through the trouble of providing an express carve-out for sex-separated living facilities,” said the court. “Transgender persons — who are members of the female and male sexes by birth — would be able to live in both living facilities associated with their biological sex and living facilities associated with their gender identity or transgender status.”
“Commensurate with the plain and ordinary meaning of ‘sex’ in 1972, Title IX allows schools to provide separate bathrooms on the basis of biological sex. That is exactly what the School Board has done in this case,” the court concluded. “And to accommodate transgender students, the School Board has provided single-stall, sex-neutral bathrooms, which Title IX neither requires nor prohibits. Nothing about this bathroom policy violates Title IX.”
Recent Florida Eleventh Circuit Court decision creates a circuit split withFourth & Seventh Circuits, meaning the U.S. Supreme Court will be likely to take up restroom issue. (Photo courtesy of Pixabay)
The circuit court rejected several attempts to tie this case to the Supreme Court’s 2020 Bostock decision, which ruled that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity classified as discrimination on the basis of sex. But the Bostock decision considered employment discrimination under Title VII, not Title IX (education discrimination). In fact, the Supreme Court explicitly stated in Bostock, “we do not purport to address bathrooms, locker rooms, or anything else of the kind.”
“Title IX was meant to ensure that women and girls had the same access to educational and sports opportunities as men and boys. It was never intended to be a sexual rights insurance policy,” said Kilgannon.
The 11th Circuit Court’s ruling in favor of the school district’s policy of assigning restrooms based upon biological sex creates a circuit “split.” Both the 7th Circuit and the 4th Circuit have previously struck down such policies. The Supreme Court is more likely to consider an appeal on a question where circuit courts are split.
If the Supreme Court does take up the case to resolve the circuit split, the result will largely depend on how much similarity there is between this case and Bostock. In Bostock, the Supreme Court also heard an appeal out of the 11th Circuit based upon a circuit split. In Bostock, the Supreme Court also considered whether “discrimination on the basis of sex” should retroactively include gender identity. However, in Bostock, the Supreme Court explicitly limited the scope of their ruling to Title VII employment discrimination, excluding Title IX education discrimination.
The composition of the court is largely the same today as when the Bostock ruling was issued in 2020, with some possibly significant differences. Of the justices currently serving, four formed part of the Bostock majority (Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Gorsuch, Kagan, and Sotomayor), while three dissented (Justices Alito, Thomas, and Kavanaugh). Since the Bostock ruling, Justices Barrett (nominated by President Trump) and Jackson (nominated by President Biden) have joined the court.
Joshua Arnold is a staff writer for the Family Research Council. This guest column he wrote was originally published at the Washington Stand and can be seen by clicking here.
The Bottom Line:
The Bible says in First John Two, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”
MANSFIELD — Sports betting will be legal in Ohio at the beginning of 2023. Last January clergy released an open letter to the Ohio Governor saying predatory sports betting on collegiate and professional sports will be a bad bet for Ohio and will lay the foundation for a corrupt banana republic.
After January 1st 2023, legalized sports betting will occur at brick-and-mortar casinos, stadiums, bars, and restaurants and allow betting via internet, mobile devices, and kiosks. License-holders include: Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Columbus Blue Jackets, Columbus Crew, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Cavs, Cleveland Guardians, and FC Cincinnati. The Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Muirfield Village Golf Club will also have gambling licenses.
Pastor John Bouquet pictured far right with other clergy who sent an open letter to Governor DeWine. (Photo courtesy of Frontlines Ohio)
The clergy feel if state leaders have no problem making money off addiction, what else will they legalize? One of the cosigners of the clergy letter, Pastor John Bouquet comments, “This really is the story of the way of our country: we have national leaders in power demanding bribes, and Ohio is following suit. The Bible clearly warns, ‘A just king gives stability to his nation, but one who demands bribes destroys it.”
In the open letter, clergy from over ninety different congregations wrote, “As the state government under your (DeWine’s) leadership continues to employ new methods of consumer fraud to exploit Ohio’s poor, it bears worth repeating that gambling does not create new wealth, gambling only makes wealth change hands. This past year Ohioans lost over $2.11 billion from casinos, racinos and bingo halls. We are told by the Bible “not to rob the poor because he is poor, nor oppress the afflicted at the gate; for the LORD will plead their cause and plunder the soul of those who plunder them.”
After the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling to strike down a federal law that prohibited states from allowing the practice, Ohio lawmakers began drafting legislation to legalize sports betting in 2018. The legal framework for sports betting in Ohio was launched after it was approved by lawmakers at the end of 2021.
“We are already seeing state-sanctioned gambling clouding the judgement of elected officials. Scripture tells us ‘a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.’ With sports gambling added to the mix, lawmakers are going to be tempted even more to move the goalposts and bend the rules.”
Pastor John Bouquet
Even prior to sports gambling, wealth in Ohio has been exchanging hands; especially between those in positions of power, under the table.
Cities where the state’s four casinos are situated have been associated with recent public corruption. In 2020, three Cincinnati City Council members were charged with bribery and corruption charges. The same year, four Toledo City Council members were charged with accepting bribes. And a recent report reveals the former Ohio House Speaker stationed in Columbus was heavily involved in 2019 in a pay-to-play scandal to fast-track sports betting to Ohio. Ex-Speaker Larry Householder already is facing federal charges of conspiracy in a $60 million bribery scheme.
“We are already seeing state-sanctioned gambling clouding the judgement of elected officials,” says Bouquet. “Scripture tells us ‘a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.’ With sports gambling added to the mix, lawmakers are going to be tempted even more to move the goalposts and bend the rules.”
The graphic above depicts a voluntary exclusion program for those whosuffer from compulsive problem gambling. (Photo courtesy Ohio Lottery Commission)
The clergy also believe state-sanctioned sports gambling will harm the integrity of sports institutions it wagers on and will exacerbate the problem of cheating thru game-fixing and point-shaving.
“Whether it is Pete Rose regularly placing wagers on his team as Manager of the Cincinnati Reds, or University of Toledo football and basketball players accepting financial gifts to alter their game performances, with the state government sanctioning sports gambling, more such incidents will undoubtedly occur. Players will be tempted to cheat and the faith in the integrity of the games will be diminished. Everyone will lose,” the clergy letter said.
As a so-called goodwill gesture, Ohio has implemented a voluntary exclusion program for individuals who suffer from problem gambling addiction. The state has also implemented several initiatives for problem gambling, including Pause Before You Play, Get Set Before You Bet, and the Responsible Gambling Helpline: 1-800-589-9966.
The Bottom Line:
The Bible saysin Proverbs 29,‘A just king gives stability to his nation, but one who demands bribes destroys it.”
View the video below produced by Cincinnati Local 12 News on compulsive problem-gambling (3 min.)
NORTH CENTRAL OHIO — As one of the leading voices for revival, the ministry of Rabbi Jonathan Cahn has been a force for good across the world, including in the Buckeye State. On Tuesday, Rabbi Cahn publicly released a powerful prophetic word to Joe Biden, saying that he has fallen away from the stance he once held and calling Biden the embodiment of America’s apostasy.
Rabbi Cahn went on to say, “Mr. President, how can you place your left hand on the Bible, the Word of GOD, and then with your right hand sign laws into existence that war against the Word of GOD? Our first President warned that if we (the nation) ever disregard the eternal rules of GOD, His blessings will be removed from the land. And now you have done it,” said Cahn.
“In December 2022, you stood on the White House lawn and officiated over a ceremony in which you signed an act that altered federal law…The Respect for Marriage Act, a law that is the very opposite of its name, the disrespecting and obliteration of what marriage has always been since the beginning of human history. You did something that no President has ever done. You enshrined the alteration of marriage into federal law. You even commemorated the event with a great festival, inviting thousands of activists and drag queens to the White House lawn to celebrate it.
Rabbi Cahn continued, “Now listen to the words of an American leader spoken in modern times not long ago years after 9-11. He declared an absolute moral reality. ‘Marriage is between a man and a woman.’ Who said that? His name was Joe Biden. You said that- and you repeated it for emphasis: ‘Marriage is between a man and a woman and states must respect that.’ And yet now, on the White House lawn, you signed a law that declared marriage is not between a man and a woman.
“Further, you boasted that you voted for the Defense of Marriage Act because it was morally right. You assured America that there was no danger to that law…and yet now on the White House lawn, it was your own hand that struck down that very law and destroyed it.
“How does a man turn away from his own morality and actually celebrate the act of turning away? Was there any scientific discovery that changed everything? Was there a new set of tablets handed down from Mount Sinai? Do the words of Scripture magically disappear?”
Rabbi Jonathan Cahn
“How does a man turn away from his own morality and actually celebrate the act of turning away? Was there any scientific discovery that changed everything? Was there a new set of tablets handed down from Mount Sinai? Do the words of Scripture magically disappear? You have set American federal law at war against the Word of GOD and against everyone who upholds it.
“You merged together and equated racism and anti-Semitism, with what you called homophobia and transphobia. Meaning that all those that do not condone same-sex marriage and all those who believe to hormonally and surgically alter a child is morally and egregiously wrong, and all who believe in the Word of GOD are now the equivalent of racists and anti-Semites. So was the President under whom you served, Barak Obama, who first ran for office stating marriage was between a man and a woman, was he the equivalent of a racist and anti-Semite? So was Abraham Lincoln, who believed the same thing, now the equivalent of a racist and anti-Semite?…..Were you a racist and an anti-Semite?
Rabbi Cahn continued, “So does this mean you are setting the American government against Christians and those who uphold the Word of GOD?….How can you in reality call yourself a Christian when you war against the ways and Word of GOD. Your actions are not that of Peter and Paul, but rather of those who persecuted them and put them to death.
“The only hope America has is to turn and repent and come under the mercy of GOD. Mr. President, the hour is now late and eternity is soon coming. Repent and turn to GOD.”
The Bottom Line:
The Bible says in Isaiah 5, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”
View the video below of Rabbi Jonathan Cahn’s prophetic message to Joe Biden (12 min.)
MANSFIELD — Throughout the Buckeye Bible Belt, Christians attended Sunday morning services on Christmas Day. Frontlines Ohio is showcasing one of these local messages given at Journey Life Center.
Part one of a two-part sermon series given by Pastor Bruce Philippi. In his Christmas message, Pastor Philippi discusses the supernatural events that occurred in the Bible at night. With angels appearing to shepherds to announce the arrival of the Messiah, anyone can have hope that GOD chooses the unlikeliest people to reveal His glory in the darkest of circumstances. Pastor Philippi encourages his congregation to keep Christ in Christmas and to remain faithful.
Reverend Philippi has served in ministry for over forty-years.
The Bottom Line:
The Bible saysin Luke Chapter Two, “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the LORD appeared to them, and the glory of the LORD shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.”
View the video below of Pastor Philippi’s sermon “Dancing in the Dark” from Journey Life Center(29 min.)
NORTH CENTRAL OHIO — While some have been without power during a recent polar vortex that has swept across the nation, Richland County has no shortage of hope at the beginning of this winter. Despite frigid wind chills of twelve degrees on the first night of Hannukuh, several local observances of Hannukuh took place lighting up both the communities of Ontario and Lexington.
“The message of Hannukuh is about being dedicated and not compromising,” says Rabbi William Hallbrook of Sar Shalom Center in Ontario. “The menorah or ‘hanukkiah’ is a lampstand that shines in the darkness. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden, neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand to give light to everyone in the house. If the Messiah calls His followers the ‘light of the world,’ then having done all, we must stand.”
Community observance of public menorah lighting in Lexington December 18th. (Photo courtesy of Frontlines Ohio)
The eight-day celebration known as Hannukah commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem during the second century B.C., where Jews rose up against their Greek-Syrian oppressors in the Maccabean Revolt. The Menorah is a lampstand that was used in the ancient temple and has been a symbol of Judaism since ancient times.
The Ontario gathering included a recitation of three blessings over the menorah lights and a traditional reading of Psalm 30. Hot chocolate and doughnuts were provided to those who braved the cold. The Lexington gathering incorporated songs and prayers.
“The City of Ontario has been very gracious these last two years to allow our congregation to utilize Marshall Park for the menorah display,” says Rabbi William Hallbrook. “It is our hope the menorah will be a radiant light for the community.”
Last year when City Council was first approached about allowing a menorah display on city property, Council President Eddie Gallo stated he believed local elected officials should know the pulse of their community, and not the pulse of other in-vogue metropolitan centers.
“Our First Amendment allows all types of speech to be showcased in the marketplace of ideas. If the United Nations is free to declare the birth of Israel as ‘a catastrophe,’ or if the New York Times is free to depict a swastika in its newspapers, then we should be free to display a holiday menorah in our own community. Those mistaken groups need to keep in mind, our light is shining on their deeds.”
Benjamin Mutti, Faith-based advocate for Israel
“We have to recognize and be in tune with the pulse of our community,” Gallo said. “I believe this is a faith-based community. I believe that not just Ontario but all of Richland County is faith-based. I want to operate in their best interests with the understanding of who my neighbors are, what they believe, and what they put us in these positions with those beliefs for. I am not interested in the beliefs of Los Angeles or Columbus for that matter.”
One of the coordinators of the public menorah lighting observances is grateful the City of Ontario protects the First Amendment and is distinctly set apart with its own corporate identity.
“Our First Amendment allows all types of speech to be showcased in the marketplace of ideas,” says Benjamin Mutti. “If the United Nations is free to declare the birth of Israel ‘a catastrophe,’ or if the New York Times is free to depict a swastika in its newspapers, then we should be free to display a holiday menorah in our own community. Those mistaken groups need to keep in mind, our light is shining on their deeds.”
Community observance of a public menorah lighting in Ontario December 18th . (Photo courtesy of Frontlines Ohio)
Weeks before Hanukah, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution commemorating the seventy-fifth anniversary of the rebirth of the Nation of Israel, calling it Nakba, or “a catastrophe.”
On the first day of Hannukuh, the New York Times was exposed for publishing a controversial crossword. The silhouette of a crossword puzzle bore an uncanny resemblance to a swastika, a symbol of hate during the Nazi regime that led to the extermination of millions of Jews during the Holocaust.
Despite the rising tide of anti-Semitism, North Central Ohio remains known for its staunch support of Israel thru its county government investment of Israeli bonds and strong advocacy from the faith community. Last year local clergy received a thank you letter for their efforts from Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Bottom Line:
The Bible saysin Matthew Chapter Five, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
View the slideshow below of several public menorah lightings in North Central Ohio.
The menorah is a symbol most often seen during the Hanukkah holiday. (Photo courtesy of Frontlines Ohio)
Holiday display of menorah at Marshall Park in Ontario. (Photo courtesy of Frontlines Ohio)
Group gathers in Ontario with 12 degree wind chill. (Photo courtesy of Frontlines Ohio)
Holiday display of menorah at Lexington Community Park. (Photo courtesy of Frontlines Ohio)
SHELBY — School Superintendent Tim Tarvin told a boisterous crowd last night’s board meeting had the largest attendance in over a decade. After the district gave no public notification they were allowing transgender students into opposite sex restrooms, several recent incidents occurred generating outrage. In response, over one-hundred area clergy sent a letter to Shelby school officials calling for the district to revert back to the status quo of biological restrooms. The letter appeared to motivate others to attend Monday’s meeting.
School Board President Lorie White told those in attendance, “The board must make decisions based on legal, moral, financial, and public relation considerations. We (school board) have to make decisions based on things beyond our personal convictions.” She went on to explain, “There are no plans to change the process (restrooms) now….We want to work with your cisgender students as well as our transgender students.”
Shelby City School Board meeting Dec. 19th, 2022. (Photo courtesy of Frontlines Ohio)
All eight persons speaking during public comment spoke in favor of biological restrooms; they recommended transgender students use single-unit unisex restrooms. When asked by the crowd why School Administration could not require transgender students to use three unisex restrooms in the school, there was no response. After the pause, Superintendent Tarvin advised the agitated crowd that public comment time does not involve discussion. However, much of the public comment time included back and forth dialogue between board members and attendees.
Comments made by citizens with grandchildren and children in the district expressed general anxiety over the privacy and safety concerns involving female students like the 2021 rape of a female student in Loudoun County, Virginia. Citizens also alluded to the Shelby incident where a transgender biological boy grabbed a female student in the school girls’ restroom. Two different parents stated they were unwilling to have their children use school restrooms.
One twelve year-old female student told the board “I do not want to walk into a restroom and be scared about who I will see in there. Girls spend more time in the restroom and are more vulnerable.”
Bishop Anthony Cooper commented, “Being politically correct is not always correct; there is agenda behind politics. We need answers, if you cannot protect the security and privacy of our students, I am calling for you (board members) to resign. We could easily get the churches to start another school and take our kids out of Shelby schools. This is our town too.”
“Being politically correct is not always correct; there is agenda behind politics. We need answers, if you cannot protect the security and privacy of our students, I am calling for you (board members) to resign. We could easily get the churches to start another school and take our kids out of Shelby schools. This is our town too.”
Bishop Anthony Cooper
Board Member Carl Ridenour shot back, “What all of you are asking us (board) to do is ignore laws!” Several in attendance shouted back “Which law?”
Both school board seats occupied by White and Ridenour are up for election this coming November 2023. Board Member Kim Nadolsky publicly gave her support for biological restrooms.
According to Pastor Brad Gentille who attended the meeting: “The national average for transgenderism is .3%. What is concerning to me is, in a nation under God, God’s gender assignment is being usurped by children who are early in the process of learning to make wise choices; and adults are actually acquiescing their parental and school authority to these children!
“Also very compelling from a legal risk perspective is that 99.7% of the students in any given school district are being subjected to fear, inappropriate exposure, and risk of harm from the “gender choices” of .3% of the school population. This restroom issue carries with it a huge legal liability from the 99.7% of students and their parents who are not transgender in any school system deciding to allow trans children to choose the restroom of their “gender identity.” Ultimately the government and these school systems are thumbing their nose at God.”
Clergy cosigners of a letter sent to Shelby Superintendent include: Reverend El Akuchie, Bishop Anthony Cooper, & Pastor Hank Webb (Photo courtesy of Frontlines Ohio)
While Superintendent Tarvin read aloud the only voice of support for gender-identity restrooms in a letter from City Councilman Garland Gates, Tarvin did not read the clergy letter supporting biological restrooms. Nine of those pastors were present during the meeting.
After the meeting, Tarvin discussed a court opinion involving a U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals’ 2016 decision. According to Tarvin, the district is basing its policy on Jane Doe v. Highland School District, where the Sixth Circuit ordered Highland Local Schools to allow an eleven year-old biological boy identifying as a girl to have access to girls’ restrooms.
Since the 2016 Court ruling, the Sixth Circuit Court has had a makeover, with President Trump filling six vacancies making it a 10-7 conservative majority.
Bishop Cooper responded, “Either the school district can do what is right and reinstitute biological restrooms or the district can face dropping enrollment and declining public support.”
The Bottom Line:
The Bible says in Second Timothy, “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and sound mind.”
Ohio parents are stunned to learn that a complete overhaul of Ohio education is being proposed at the Statehouse with rushed hearings and little debate, during the lame duck session of the Ohio General Assembly at the end of 2022. It’s a bill that’s been around for a while but suddenly, it’s everyone’s top priority. The bill that would do this is Sub. Senate Bill 178, sponsored by Sen. Bill Reineke.
The proposal would largely incapacitate the Ohio Board of Education, which has some elected and some governor-appointed members, and replace it with a new Department of Education and Workforce. That agency will report directly to the governor and the department head will be appointed by him ( or her, depending on the future).
Some say this will give more direct accountability of education performance because education is a mess. We agree. But the problem is, the current governor, Mike DeWine, has been ignoring and even opposing the education concerns of parents and grass roots Republicans for most of his tenure. DeWine opposes the Save Women’s Sports Act. He has lent no support to a bill to stop gender mutilation treatments for children.
He has installed school-based health clinics and enthusiastically backed big funding for more school counselors. We don’t need any of this, but we do need stronger academic performance and less “woke” ideology.
DeWine is an education bureaucracy fan, and loves loading education programs with big bucks. He seems unaccountably dense when it comes to the poor outcomes of social programs in public education, many of which install anti-family, anti-life, anti-Christian measures. Why should Ohio families give him some new, super-enhanced authority over education? He has not shown us he deserves anything like this. Quite the opposite.
Homeschooling families have little trust that new regulations would not come their way under a DeWine-controlled Department of Education. Pro-family and pro-life Ohioans already see many areas where, under twelve years of GOP governors, the current Ohio Department of Education has been allowed to install harmful leftist programs with no objections from the governor’s office.
Governor Mike DeWine taking his oath of office on his family Bibles. (Photo courtesy Screenshot)
Why the rush to push this two-thousand page bill through the Ohio General Assembly?
And then there’s the “workforce” piece of this. Children need well-rounded education to become cogent, enlightened citizens, not narrow, limited “workforce” education. This is a favorite goal of Democrats. Why are we being urged to put a rubber stamp on a program Hillary Clinton would love? Or Barack Obama?
Below is the testimony I submitted to Senate and House committees that explains more of my concerns….
“I submit this testimony in strong opposition to Senate Bill 178, which seeks to capture the oversight of education in Ohio within the executive branch. This is a dangerous and unwarranted concentration of influence in the administration, and leaves virtually no means of recourse for the public to have input.
I will present below some specifics that, with all due respect, show this Republican Administration as well as previous Republican administrations (which have dominated Ohio’s politics for the last thirty years) do not deserve this kind of power. They are already failing to defend the values of most Republican voters on education issues.
Certainly under a possible future Democratic Party Administration, parents with strong Christian or conservative moral principles would see high risk behaviors and identities actively and proudly promoted to our kids, which is why this re-make of Ohio education oversight is highly risky.
Yet anti-family, anti-Christian efforts are already well-established, evidenced by the current work of the Ohio Department of Education. For instance, “LGBTQ” behaviors and identities for students and teachers are specifically named in numerous ODE programs. These should all be eliminated. Homosexuality and gender confusion practices are high risk for youth and not inborn (research has failed to demonstrate the “born that way” claim). Millions of Ohio families are furious when the behaviors and identities of homosexuality and gender confusion are actively promoted as worthwhile, low risk and normal to Ohio children, or proudly lauded by their teachers.
“One would think that a Republican Administration would dial back that kind of leftist activism within the ODE. That has not happened. The Republicans have had years to do this, either through their administrative influence or thru eight appointed OBOE members. Why have Republicans not prevented this risk to children? And why should we give this Republican Administration more power to disappoint and betray Republican families even further?”
LInda Harvey, MIssion America
One would think that a Republican Administration would dial back that kind of leftist activism within the ODE. That has not happened. The Republicans have had years to do this, either through their administrative influence or thru eight appointed OBOE members. Why have Republicans not prevented this risk to children? And why should we give this Republican Administration more power to disappoint and betray Republican families even further?
Here are a few disturbing examples. Under Project AWARE, a mental health program administered by ODE, the Trevor Project appears as a resource for “LGBTQ” youth. Quick exit keyboard instructions are given to initial youth visitors to this high-risk, anti-parent, blatantly discriminatory site. When a troubled teen logs on to the Trevor site, they learn it’s where they can “explore their gender or sexuality in an affirming place.” Trevor is in reality a homosexual activist website which advises troubled youth that entering a homosexual life or attempting to change sexual identity are safe and normal, and that their parents are wrong if they object. Ohio children should not be misled and Ohio parents should not be undermined in this insidious, unhealthy manner.
Trevor Project hosts Trevor Space, featuring unmonitored chat rooms. Adults can easily enter chat areas and gain access to troubled youth. Why not just post a sign, “Sex traffickers welcome”?
Trevor Project and “Trans Line” are both listed as worthy resources by the Ohio School Safety Center. These activist groups hold positions that pose an imminent threat to children. They claim “support” for youth and are allowed respectable inclusion on the ODE site by this Republican administration, yet are a red flag for emotionally vulnerable teens.
ODE adopted “social emotional learning” as the focus of its strategic plan in 2019. Most SEL vendors promote acceptance of homosexual behavior and gender confusion as part of “self-awareness, ”“social awareness” or “relationship skills” competencies.
And this administration and ODE support school-based health clinics, even though such clinics are well-known by the pro-life community to be an access point for contraceptives for underage minors, even without parental consent, as well as referral for abortion. In the ODE position paper on school-based health clinics on the website, “Higher contraceptive use among females” is listed prominently as a benefit for students.
105North Central Ohio clergy stand against Eastern Religion in public schools. (Photo courtesy of Frontlines Ohio)
Yet Ohio has a law that schools are to encourage abstinence until marriage (ORC 3313.6011). Is the current ODE, under a Republican administration, exempt from following Ohio law? This is what’s happening now. Why should we expect improvement under a new education empire?
There’s another deeply disturbing issue. The blatant discrimination in favor of every faith alternative except Christianity is accelerating and frankly, believing families in Ohio are sick of it. On an ODE website with recommendations to alleviate trauma in the school setting, the highly questionable practice of “mindfulness” is recommended:
“Mindfulness: Facilitate activities that teach skills like mindfulness. Breathing exercises, yoga or meditation can be taught and practiced as a standalone lesson or incorporated as part of another lesson. Practice these skills and re-teach as necessary.”
Mindfulness and yoga are Eastern occult practices (it’s not just “breathing”). This goes far outside stress relief into sketchy religious practices. Several years ago, a group of northern Ohio clergy warned about yoga in 39 Ohio school districts. So, if we are allowing blatant religious practices, where is a recommendation for PRAYER? Under a Republican administration, surely someone could have made sure ALL viewpoints were represented.
Please discard the plans for a non-representative Ohio education bureaucracy. There are no good reasons to go this direction.”
Linda Harvey is President of Mission America, a Christian pro-family organization that tracks current cultural issues. She has a weekly e-newsletter and an Ohio-wide radio show on the Salem Network station in Columbus, OH, 880 AM WRFD.
The Bottom Line:
The Bible saysin James Chapter One, “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”
SHELBY — Last month a group of parents attended a public school board meeting enraged over a district policy allowing biological males into female restrooms. With a school board member requesting for more public input and Joe Biden touting transgender theory as gospel truth, a wide-reaching group of clergy are not hesitating to warn school officials they should affirm Bible-based, biological truth.
According to a news report, several incidents have occurred surrounding the Shelby City School restrooms. To no one’s surprise, irate parents have compiled statements from at least ten female students who no longer feel safe using the restrooms. In response, area clergy opposing the current school policy delivered a correspondence to Superintendent Tim Tarvin. Historically the faith leaders have been vocal on this issue.
Ohio clergy Hank Webb, Anthony Cooper & El Akuchie (Photo courtesy of Frontlines Ohio)
“It is our expectation the Shelby School Administration have a zero-tolerance policy to incidents of misconduct in school restrooms, locker rooms, and showers,” says Bishop Anthony Cooper. “As clergy, we will not sacrifice the safety and privacy of children on the altar of political correctness.It bears worth repeating, the Bible says GOD is the “Father of Lights with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”
During the November 21st school board meeting, Tarvin was quoted as saying, “three transgender girls (biological boys) at school use the girls’ restrooms.” One mother stated a boy hugged her daughter against her will in the restroom which has led to her daughter not wanting to come to school. Additionally, another parent reported a transgender boy (biological girl) has made threats against girls.
The letter, sent by lead clergymen representing over one hundred diverse area congregations, is calling for all students to use the restrooms, corresponding to biological sex and for questioning students to have the choice of using three existing gender-neutral staff restrooms. The pastors believe allowing some students to have the special privilege of arbitrarily choosing whichever restroom they want at the expense of the physical welfare of other students is unfair and misguided.
According to another cosigner of the letter, Reverend El Akuchie comments, “Allowing boys into girls’ restrooms and showers-it was said we would never go down that road. Now we are moving to the next taboo. When you move away from GOD’s ways, there are no guardrails. If we do not bring moral clarity to our culture, it is only a matter of time before the car goes off the cliff.”
In their letter the clergy pointed out several years ago after Target Stores announced a restroom policy based on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI), criminal incidents abounded, and the company sustained financial losses in the tens of millions of dollars.
“It is our expectation the Shelby School Administration have a zero-tolerance policy to incidents of misconduct in school restrooms, locker rooms, and showers. As clergy, we will not sacrifice the safety and privacy of children on the altar of political correctness.“
Bishop Anthony Cooper, Shelby Ohio
The clergy then referenced the fifteen-year-old girl from Louden County, Virginia who last year was sexually assaulted while in a school bathroom. The attack was committed by a teenage boy wearing a skirt who entered the girls’ bathroom. This same student was accused of committing a second sexual assault against a girl at a different school.
“The Creator of the universe does not change His character, nor His Word, therefore we (clergy) do not change our position,” says Pastor Hank Webb. “With society saying people can choose from 112 different genders, some are confused and in need of basic biological truths found in the Bible. GOD defines truth. In Genesis, GOD created male and female in His image, period. People do not choose their gender, their DNA-specifically their 23rd pair of chromosomes, determines gender. Believing otherwise is rejecting science. The school board needs to have courage of true convictions.”
Incensed by the recent Shelby restroom policies, one area pastor last Sunday announced to his congregation that he will be running for one of the two Shelby Board of Education seats this coming Fall.
With both the State Attorney General and State Board of Education weighing in on school restrooms by opposing the Biden Administration’s proposed redefinition of sex in Title IX, the clergy agree there is no excuse legally for the school district to not have restrooms based on objective biological gender.
The clergy wrote, “In the State of Ohio, parents have more school alternatives when there is perceived mismanagement. With open enrollment and options like home schooling, private schools and charter schools, it is in the best interest of Shelby City Schools to implement policies protecting privacy and safety. Future passage of the Backpack Bill is expected to further strengthen parents’ grip of tax dollars.”
The Bottom Line:
The Bible says in Proverbs 2, “If you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding….discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you, and deliver you from the way of evil.”
COLUMBUS — Faith leaders are applauding Ohio’s top school board as it voted 10 to 7 to approve a resolution Tuesday affirming local control and parents’ rights. The resolution was written after radical changes were proposed by the Biden Administration in June to Title IX, a federal program protecting students from discrimination based on sex. One pastor is elated.
“This resolution passed today by the State Board of Education is further confirmation Ohioans do not accept the Biden Administration’s radical redefinition of biological gender,” says Pastor J.C. Church. “The federal government has no right to come in between parents and their children. According to the Bible, it would be wise for Joe Biden to not move ancient boundary stones from our Western Civilization.”
Pastor J.C. Church of Victory in Truth Ministries (Photo courtesy of Frontlines Ohio)
State Board Member Brendan Shea, of London, introduced the resolution in October stating the proposed Title IX changes “contradict the plain language of the original law,” and requires school “sports teams to be based on gender identity rather than biological sex” while granting “access to sex-separate facilities based on gender identity rather than on biological sex.”
“This is a foundational issue,” said Shea. “The issue of boys and girls and restrooms and sports it’s a foundational issue and I think if you’re going to consider yourself a leader, as an individual or as a board, at the state level I think you ought to take a position.”
Further, the resolution states the Biden Administration’s proposed regulations “require K-12 schools to socially transition minor children to a different gender without requiring parental consent.” Shea also states the regulations deprive students of their First Amendment right to speech.
“This resolution passed today by the State Board of Education is further confirmation Ohioans do not accept the Biden Administration’s radical redefinition of biological gender. The federal government has no right to come in between parents and their children. According to the Bible, it would be wise for Joe Biden to not move ancient boundary stones.”
Pastor J.C. Church
The State Board of Education in the resolution calls upon the Ohio General Assembly to resist federal executive branch attempts to undermine the original intent of Title IX. It urges the General Assembly to safeguard the inviolable rights of parents, the innocence of children, the rights, privacy, safety, and opportunities of women and girls in schools and athletics, and local control of school districts.
Ultimately the resolution supports Ohio’s status as a local control state and is intended to inform schools districts, not to compel them to take a particular course of action.
In it the resolution directs the acting Superintendent of Public Instruction to issue within twenty-one days, a copy of the resolution to every Ohio public school indicating that while the board opposes the proposed changes, it does not compel public schools to take a particular course of action.
State School Board Member Brendan Shea (Photo courtesy of The Ohio Channel)
Regardless, the changes to Title IX remain unenforceable until the U.S. Department of Education reviews the more than 200,000 comments submitted during a public comment period this past summer. The process to finalize the regulations could take months or even years.
The resolution states the board supports the efforts of the Ohio Attorney General. A lawsuit filed by Ohio Attorney General David Yost and twenty-one other attorneys general claim the Biden Administration’s proposed policies are illegal. In July, a federal judge in Tennessee ruled in their favor, temporarily blocking parts of the new Title IX protections. A final ruling is still pending.
According to Pastor Church, “In the long run, this decision may strengthen the resolve of local school boards who want to resist the divisive identity politics coming out of Washington D.C.”
The Bottom Line:
The Bible says in Proverbs 23, “Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless, for their Defender is strong; He will take up their case against you.”
Crime is out of control. Not just in our cities but in our news media. Journalists lost control of the narrative before, during, and after the election. They are furious that social media allows voters to see attacks on citizens, hate crimes and huge mobs robbing stores.
The legacy press tried to suppress the crime narrative leading up to Election Day. Then just 19 days after the vote, The Washington Post admitted, “During the last three years, homicides nationwide have reached their highest levels in decades.”
Dan Gainor, Media Research Center
That should have resulted in a come to Mencken moment for the political press. Instead, they either ignored it or tried to rationalize it.
The Post’s own “National Columnist” Philip Bump followed up that news report in his own newspaper with, “The overblown, heavily political fear of American cities.” (Worth noting that when reporters become columnists at major news outlets, it typically reflects the reporter’s inability to even pretend neutrality. Like Bump.)
Bump actually had the nerve to compare crime in 1990 to now. The birth rate has been near 4 million a year since that time. So more than 120 million weren’t even born then, not counting new immigrants – legal and illegal. Still Bump argued, “Crime in New York City is up — but it has been far worse.” Wow, comforting. Your coworker was just murdered on the subway, but, hey, 32 years ago it was more dangerous! You just won a free subway token.
The legacy press has come full circle. They can’t stand that people don’t trust their spin on crime. It was the same leading up to the vote.
CNN’s Jake Tapper tried to blame the 2020 crime spike not on liberals looting, burning and violently attacking others in an orgy of rioting instead on … then-President Donald Trump. “Between 2019 and 2020, the Trump years, the U.S. homicide rate rose about thirty-percent. That’s the highest increase recorded in modern history.”
Jake’s smugness comes through even when you read his comments. He continued, “If you don’t feel safe, if you or someone you care about has been accosted or assaulted, that’s your experience. Fear is primal. It’s a crucial emotion.” In other words, don’t be irrational, don’t listen to worries about crime. Be like common man Jake, worth $16 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
NBC’s Lester Holt tried the same strategy right before the election. He brought on “civil rights attorney” Alec Karakatsanis who blamed conservatives, “I see an attempt by the right-wing to scare people into unwinding certain very small reforms,” he claimed. Get back to me the next time you see a bunch of legacy media elites risking their lives on the New York subway.
It was the same on Election Day. The Atlantic was worried about crime: “The pollster Stan Greenberg has found that worry about rising crime under Democrats is a more potent fear than any other issue this cycle.” The article added more feelgood numbers about crime. “FBI data released in October show that violent crime was roughly flat last year (with a drop in robberies canceling out an increase in murders).”
Ah, yes, murders and robberies always just cancel each other out in that great Excel spreadsheet in the sky.
“The left and their buddies in the legacy press can’t hide crime anyone. People are going to see videos and get reports about assaults and murders, homelessness, drug use and the horrific decline of our once-great cities. And no amount of government propaganda or media spin can stop it.”
Dan Gainor, Media Research Center
The same time, NPR ran a rationalization about why crime really isn’t so bad, headlined, “Stories about crime are rife with misinformation and racism, critics say.” You are stupid or racist if you worry about being mugged.
Republicans won the House of Representatives, in large part because of New York seats the GOP gained tied to its anti-crime campaign. Then came the Post article, admitting, “Even now, as the bloodshed has slowed, the homicide rate outpaces pre-pandemic levels.”
But the Post buried its lede. It profiled nine cities ravaged by murder, admitting, “Victim data collected from each city profiled here show Black people made up more than 80 percent of the total homicide victims in 2020 and 2021.”
Can you imagine a major news outlet hiding something so horrible to people of color? Unless, of course, journalists were worried the problem might cause African-Americans to vote Republican.
But the news gets out. The New York Post reported, “Felony crimes — including murder, rape and robbery — have surged on the subway system by 40 percent so far this year compared to 2021, according to newly released NYPD stats.”
Those were the kind of stories even CNN reported early this year. Like, “New York man arrested in connection with 7 separate attacks against Asian women.” Or, “Horrified by the surge of anti-Asian violence, she’s giving her community tools to protect themselves.”
The left and their buddies in the legacy press can’t hide crime anyone. People are going to see videos and get reports about assaults and murders, homelessness, drug use and the horrific decline of our once-great cities. And no amount of government propaganda or media spin can stop it.
But the more journalists try to bury the story, the more the only thing they bury is their own credibility.
Dan Gainor is the Vice President of Business and Culture for the Media Research Center. He is a veteran editor with more than three decades of experience in print and online media. Dan has appeared on Fox News. This column first appeared on Fox News Digital.
Christmas at Crestline Village Gazebo on Seltzer Street. (Photo courtesy of Frontlines Ohio)
WASHINGTON DC — Liberty Counsel has launched its 20th annual Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign that is designed to educate and, when necessary, litigate to ensure that religious viewpoints are not censored from Christmas and holiday themes.
Liberty Counsel monitors cases each year across the country where there is intimidation by officials and groups to remove the celebration of Christmas in public and private sectors. Liberty Counsel also provides a memorandum to offer guidance regarding the public celebration of religious holidays.
Christmas at Crestline Village Gazebo on Seltzer Street. (Photo courtesy of Frontlines Ohio)
In public schools, classroom discussion of the religious aspects of the holidays is permissible. A holiday display in a classroom may include a Nativity scene or other religious imagery so long as the context also includes secular symbols. Public school music teachers have the freedom to include both religious and secular Christmas songs in their musical programs. If the students select their own songs independent of the direction of school officials, there is no requirement that the songs include secular selections. Students may distribute religious Christmas cards to their classmates during non-instructional time, before or after school, or between classes. If the students are not required to dress in uniform, they may wear clothing with religious words or symbols as well as religious jewelry.
Liberty Counsel also provides a Naughty and Nice List that catalogs some of the stores that are censoring Christmas and some that are publicly celebrating it.
“The First Amendment prohibits censorship based on religious viewpoint. Nativity scenes on public property are constitutional, especially when the display includes other secular symbols of the holiday. Nothing prohibits public schools from teaching objectively about Christmas or other holidays with religious significance, from displaying religious and secular Christmas symbols side by side or singing sacred and secular Christmas songs together.”
Mat Staver, Liberty Counsel
Years ago, Walmart had banned its employees from even responding with the phrase “Merry Christmas.” Now the company has moved to the “Nice List,” completely embracing the Christmas season. Thankfully, many other companies have done the same to acknowledge Christ’s birth during the season. Belk, JCPenney, Walmart, Staples and Kohl’s are examples of stores on the “Nice List” for acknowledging Christmas and offering Christmas gifting options. Barnes & Noble, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Gap and TJ Maxx are on the “Naughty List” for censoring Christmas and offering nothing more than generic “holiday” decorations and gifts.
Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “The First Amendment prohibits censorship based on religious viewpoint. Nativity scenes on public property are constitutional, especially when the display includes other secular symbols of the holiday. Nothing prohibits public schools from teaching objectively about Christmas or other holidays with religious significance, from displaying religious and secular Christmas symbols side by side or singing sacred and secular Christmas songs together. This season is about the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ. Even retailers should acknowledge Christmas and not censor it as a ‘winter holiday.’”
Liberty Counsel advances religious liberty, the sanctity of human life, and the family through litigation and education.
View video below from Liberty Council’s Mat Staver from 2017 (3 min.).
WASHINGTON DC — This week the Senate voted on a bill sponsored by Ohio Senator Rob Portman to allow pedophiles to marry children, the codification of same-sex marriage, and any other perversion of marriage you can imagine. Twelve Republicans joined fifty Democrat Senators to move forward a vote for HR 8404. While the future horizon may look bleak, one prominent Christian legal scholar is still optimistic.
“The battle is not over. It’s not over in the courts and it is not over in our plans,” says Matt Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. “Do not get discouraged-I never get discouraged anymore. Today I am as hopeful as I have been on any previous day. I know the Author of marriage, I know the King of Kings and the LORD of Lords. I know that with GOD all things are possible. We will never ever give up, especially for what is GOD’s design.”
Members of the U.S. Senate have proposed an amendment to HR 8404, the so-called Respect for Marriage Act, that fails to provide protection for people or organizations with sincerely held religious beliefs about biblical marriage.
The proposed amendment does nothing to protect religious liberty because the Religious Freedom Restoration Act only applies to the federal government. Therefore, state action will not be affected.
The amendment states: “Nothing in this Act, or any amendment made by this Act, shall be construed to alter or abrogate a religious liberty or conscience protection otherwise available to an individual or organization under the Constitution of the United States or Federal law. H.R. 8404, Section 6(a).
The Amendment severely restricts the purported exemption for religious organizations by restricting it to a limited subset of only nonprofit entities. H.R. 8404, Section 6(b) (‘Consistent with the First Amendment to the Constitution, nonprofit religious organizations, including churches, mosques, synagogues, temples, nondenominational ministries, interdenominational and ecumenical organizations, mission organizations, faith-based social agencies, religious educational institutions, and nonprofit entities whose principal purpose is the study, practice, or advancement of religion, and any employee of such an organization, shall not be required to provide services, accommodations, advantages, facilities, goods, or privileges for the solemnization or celebration of a marriage” (emphasis added).
“HR 8404 will trample upon religious freedom. It will undermine the 303 Creative case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court and will force individuals who engage in artistic expression to violate their religious convictions concerning marriage. Congress has absolutely no authority to regulate marriage within the several states.
Matt Staver, Chairman & Founder of Liberty Counsel
Nothing in HR 8404 or the proposed amendment will provide any protection for religious individuals or organization, and the subsequent amendments to the bill exclude a large percentage of constitutionally and statutorily protected religious organizations.
If HR 8404, the so-called Respect for Marriage Act, passes, gender will be irrelevant, not only in marriage, but also in any aspect of American life.
According to Staver, Congress does not possess the constitutional authority to define marriage and to enact such legislation under Article I. “In striking down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the reverse of the ill-named Respect for Marriage Act, the U.S. Supreme Court stated in United States v. Windsor that “[b]y history and tradition the definition and regulation of marriage . . . has been treated as being within the authority and realm of the separate States.”
By comparing HR 8404 to DOMA, the bills are virtually identical with the opposite conclusion. DOMA said that marriage would only be recognized at the federal level as between a man and wife. HR 8404 by contrast, expands that definition to include all individuals. If Congress cannot enact the one, then the necessary constitutional corollary is that Congress cannot enact the other as well.
Mat Staver says, “HR 8404 will trample upon religious freedom. It will undermine the 303 Creative case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court and will force individuals who engage in artistic expression to violate their religious convictions concerning marriage. Congress has absolutely no authority to regulate marriage within the several states. This bill should be defeated now or it will be defeated in the courts later.”
View video produced by LIberty Counsel below on Matt Staver’s response to Senate vote on HR 8484.
The Bottom Line:
The Bible says in Daniel 6, “But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God.”
NORTH CENTRAL OHIO–Values are colliding between the Silicon Valley and the Buckeye Bible Belt. A group of diverse stakeholders representing a multi-cultural faith community sent the Intel Corp. CEO a letter of concern. The letter by clergy from eighteen counties expressed their dismay over Intel’s corporate philosophy that directly conflict with their state’s values. As Intel is breaking ground in Ohio to build the largest microchip facility in the world, the earth happens to be shaking near their company’s headquarters.
One month after the clergy letter was sent, the largest earthquake in fifteen years hit the outskirts of San Jose, California with the epicenter just thirteen miles from the Intel world headquarters. While some said they heard a ‘thunderous explosion,” multiple aftershocks followed. No injuries were reported. Some clergy believe GOD is trying to get the attention of Intel officials.
“If insurance companies call earthquakes an act of God, then as a pastor, I am inclined to believe this earthquake was also an act of God,” says Pastor Robert Caw. “The Bible instructs all of us to walk humbly with the fear of the LORD. If people do not fear the LORD and His ways, He will shake them, even Big Tech giants.”
As the largest financial donor of Planned Parenthood on the 500 S&P, Intel is funding the abortion industry and the illegal sale of aborted baby parts. In addition, Intel continues working with global supply chain partners in Chinese districts where widespread religious persecution, forced labor, rape, torture and forced sterilization are occurring. The United Nations has officially confirmed China is responsible for serious human rights violations in Xinjiang Province.
Meanwhile, at the same time the clergy letter was sent to Intel, a CNN Business article headlined “Intel is the DOW’s biggest loser.” The article came in the wake of the company’s announced losses and cutbacks.
“Based on their response, Intel Corporation is not addressing our concerns, they are choosing to ignore them. Intel can turn a deaf ear to our clergy letter, but they cannot turn a blind eye to the genocide and infanticide their company is sponsoring.”
Pastor Robert CAw
Earlier in the summer CEO Pat Gelsinger stated Intel’s performance was “below the standards we (Intel) have set for the company and our shareholders,” One of the clergy letter’s co-signers agreed.
“As community stakeholders, there is one thing we do agree with Pat Gelsinger on,” says Pastor Walter Moss. “We agree Intel has performed below our standards regarding the preservation of religious freedom and the sanctity of life when it comes to the Chinese genocide and the infanticide occurring within our country’s borders. Intel needs to drop the social engineering and stick to making microchips.”
October 25, 2022 earthquake epicenter in Seven Trees, CA (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey)
In response to the Ohio clergy letter, Intel Ohio Public Affairs Director Emily Smith wrote,
“Our new Ohio colleagues will have access to a broad range of Employee Resource Groups to support them in their professional and personal lives, including religious Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). We are pleased that Intel has been recognized by the Religious Freedom and Business Foundation in both 2021 and 2022 as one of the most religiously inclusive companies.”
The Intel response did not meet the expectations of the faith leaders.
The clergy contend Intel’s special recognition for ‘religious inclusivity’ has no merit considering Intel’s strong friendship to China and the character of other award recipients. Three companies broadly known for their censorship and hostility toward conservative viewpoints: Google, Target, and PayPal, were also given the same award in 2022.
“Based on their response, Intel Corporation is not addressing our concerns,” says Pastor Caw. “They are choosing to ignore them. Intel can turn a deaf ear to our clergy letter, but they cannot turn a blind eye to the genocide and infanticide their company is sponsoring.”
NORTH CENTRAL OHIO — The blood red moon early on election day was a foreshadowing of things to come in the Buckeye State as the GOP took key races on election night in the House, Senate, and Supreme Court. With all three conservative justices winning their respective races, the State Supreme Court will turn from a 3-4 conservative minority to a 4-3 majority.
“This is evidence when Ohioans are properly informed on issues, they will choose candidates who hold conservative positions like on the sanctity of life,” says Pastor Mark Wireman. Wireman led a group of 112 lead clergy endorsing conservative justices for the State Supreme Court and for lower courts in Tuesday’s general election. The clergy called the election a “matter of life and death.” All five judicial candidates won.
Wireman hopes the State Supreme Court can be used to bring an end to abortion. He points out that in coming days, Governor Mike DeWine will fill the vacancy created by Sharon Kennedy’s election to Chief Justice with a fourth conservative judge.
“Judges play a key role in our society, especially in the post-Roe era. As GOD says in the Book of Isaiah, ‘I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counselors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, the city of righteousness, the faithful city.”
In addition to the Supreme Court, Republicans swept statewide races for Governor, Attorney General, Treasurer, Auditor, and Secretary of State. Unofficially the GOP controls the State House by a 64-30 margin and the State Senate by a 25-7 margin. Many of the GOP candidates are pro life advocates.
“This (2022 election results) is evidence when Ohioans are properly informed on issues, they will choose candidates who hold conservative positions like on the sanctity of life,”
Pastor Mark Wireman
Melanie Miller (R) defeated Drew Burge (D) for 67th State District seat by an 70-30% unofficial count. State House District 67 includes all of Ashland County and part of Medina County. Miller is the Executive Director of the Ashland Pregnancy Care Center. She commented, “It goes without saying, the life issue is of utmost importance to me. So of course I’m going to continue being a champion for that issue and for families,”
Meanwhile, Jim Obergefell (D) was defeated in his bid to become a State Rep. for the 89th District. Obergefell was the lead plaintiff against the State of Ohio in a U.S. Supreme Court case that led to the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2015. The controversial decision broke over four hundred years of western civilization precedent.
Also in the 2020 midterms, Republicans won ten of the fifteen U.S. Congressional seats. With the new redistricting maps, Congressman Jim Jordan will be representing Richland County where he originally began his career.
Pregnancy Care Center Director Melanie Miller won her election Tuesday night, for Statehouse 67th District. (Photo courtesy of Melanie Miller for Ohio House)
Senate Candidate J.D. Vance (R) defeated Tim Ryan to replace Rob Portman in the U.S. Senate.
In statewide issues, Ohioans overwhelmingly chose to prohibit non-citizens from voting in local elections and for public safety to be taken into consideration before determining bail for
Conservative judges on the down ticket also won their respective races. Both conservative candidates for the Fifth District Court of Appeals including Craig Baldwin won, their races. Attorney Beth Owens also won her race for Richland County Common Pleas Domestic Court unofficially by a 61-39% margin.
MANSFIELD — A lunar eclipse will turn the moon a blood-red color in North America on Tuesday, November 8th between 5:16-6:41 AM EDT. For the first time in recorded history, a lunar eclipse is set to occur on Election Day before Ohioans go to the polls.
Total lunar eclipses, commonly known as a “blood moon,” only happen during full moons when the Earth completely shields the moon from the sun. Once the sun, Earth, and moon are exactly aligned, light form simultaneous sunrises and sunsets around the Earth project onto the moon, briefly causing a red appearance.
Click on the above image to watch what the November 7–8, 2022 Total Lunar Eclipse will look like (Courtesy of timeanddate.com)
Given the magnitude of unanswered questions that remain from the 2020 Presidential Election, the parallels to recent U.S. election history are uncanny.
According to a Newsweek article, in ancient Mesopotamia, a lunar eclipse was considered a direct assault on the king. Given their ability to predict an eclipse with reasonable accuracy, they would put in place a proxy king for its duration. Someone considered to be expendable (it was not a popular job,) would pose as the monarch, while the real king would go into hiding and wait for the eclipse to pass. The proxy king would then conveniently disappear, and the old king be reinstated.
Interestingly, President Donald J. Trump was born on June 14, 1946. a day that also experienced a blood moon!
The next lunar eclipse will not take place until March 14, 2025.
The Bottom Line:
The Bible says in the Book of Revelation, “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood….”
NORTH CENTRAL OHIO — While GOP candidates have fared well in statewide races, Democrats have won three of the past four Ohio Supreme Court elections. With the issue of abortion now going to the states and a slim 4-3 conservative majority on the Court, this midterm election is one of the most important Ohio Supreme Court races in memory.
A group of clergy believe the magnitude of just one court decision illustrates the importance of electing Pro-Life state and local judges. Presently, the Ohio Heartbeat Law has been put on hold by a Hamilton County Common Pleas Court judge. With all of the courtroom drama, the clergy have released an open letter endorsing five judicial candidates, hoping to keep a Pro-Life majority.
112 Ohio clergymen have formally endorsed five conservatives for Ohio Supreme Court, Ohio Appeals Court, and Richland County Domestic Court. Pictured L to R: Steve Schag, Mark Wireman, & Sylvester Ginn. (Photo courtesy Frontlines Ohio)
“Based on merit, we promote candidates who represent the best interests of faith, family, and freedom. As 112 leading clergymen in our state, we encourage Ohioans to show up at their polling places in person on Tuesday, November 8th, 2022 and vote in favor of the following…”
The clergy formally endorsed the re-election of conservative Justices Sharon Kennedy, Pat Fischer and Pat DeWine for Ohio Supreme Court for 6-year terms. They also supported the re-election of Justice Craig Baldwin for Ohio Court of Appeals 5th District and the election of Atty. Beth Owens for Richland County Domestic Court Judge. The candidates made the clergy list after a review of candidate websites and a review of voter guides Buckeye Ballot and ivoterguide.
The clergy believe abortion strips the autonomy of millions of babies in the United States, in particular those coming from households with low incomes and those belonging to racial and ethnic minorities.
“While judicial activists are producing a two-tiered system of justice, we believe Judeo-Christian values establish a framework of morality necessary for limited government. There is no constitutional right to abortion,” says Pastor Steve Schag, one of the cosigners of the open letter.
“Elections have consequences. With three of the seven seats up for election, the next term of the Ohio State Supreme Court will decide if the barbaric abortion of children is a constitutional right. There is no question, this Ohio election is a matter of life and death.”
Bishop Sylvester Ginn
“As GOD says in the Book of Isaiah, ‘I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counselors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, the city of righteousness, the faithful city.”
The clergy co-signers of the open letter are from fourteen counties throughout the state. Counties with the most clergy represented include: Richland (66), Crawford (10), Ashland (6), Trumbull (6), Wayne (6).
The faith leaders are convinced the endorsed candidates can be judged by their record. All three Supreme Court Justices running for office have ruled in favor of the sanctity of life on two critical occasions. Once in 2018 to reinstate the order of the Ohio Department of Health revoking and refusing to renew the license of a Toledo abortion clinic, and in 2016 stating a Cleveland abortion clinic did not have standing to challenge a state budget bill which included additional requirements for abortion providers.
Earlier this past summer after the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade, Ohio clergymen called for the General Assembly to pass the Human Protection Act prohibiting all abortion. (Photo courtesy of Frontlines Ohio)
Liberal Justice Jennifer Brunner who is running for the Chief Supreme Court Justice seat believes the State of Ohio should follow the United Nations which says abortion is a ‘human right.’ Pastor Mark Wireman disagrees with this premise.
“Founding Father John Adams stated the U.S. Constitution was made ‘only for a moral and religious people and is wholly inadequate for any other government.’ Herein lies the problem. We have Godless people reinterpreting the Bible and the Constitution to destroy the morality which our freedom and rule of law was founded on.”
The clergy contend life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are GOD-given inalienable rights for all people, even those without a voice.
“Elections have consequences,” adds Bishop Sylvester Ginn. “With three of the seven seats up for election, the next term of the Ohio State Supreme Court will decide if the barbaric abortion of children is a constitutional right. There is no question, this Ohio election is a matter of life and death.”
The Bible saysinIsaiah Chapter 1, “I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning: afterward you shall be called, the city of righteousness, the faithful city.”
