| | Whistleblower email prompts State Farm to abandon LGBT book program for kids | | Curated for you byCP Editors | | Good afternoon! It's Thursday, May 26, and today's headlines include State Farm abandoning an LGBT children's book program, a West Virginia school district that paid over $200,000 to end an atheist group's lawsuit, and details on the sentencing of former reality TV star Josh Duggar. | | State Farm has withdrawn its support for a program that distributes LGBT-themed books to schools and libraries after a whistleblower leaked an email showing the company encouraged staff to donate books about gender identity to children as young as 5. In an email to staff on Monday, Chief Diversity Officer and Vice President of Public Affairs Victor Terry announced, "State Farm's support of a philanthropic program, GenderCool Project, has been the subject of news and customer inquiries. This program that included books about gender identity was intended to promote inclusivity. We will no longer support that program." Terry further clarified that State Farm does not support mandating school curriculum on gender identity, explaining that "[c]onversations about gender and identity should happen at home with parents." The chief diversity officer said that the company supports organizations that provide "resources for parents to have these conversations." The insurance company confirmed that it's no longer affiliated with the organization in a statement to The Christian Post on Wednesday. | | The collection of books created by the GenderCool Project that State Farm sought to distribute includes such titles as A Kids Book About Being Transgender, A Kids Book About Being Inclusive and A Kids Book About Being Non-Binary. The company reportedly intended to recruit six insurance agents to "[receive] these books in March, then [donate] them to their community by the end of April." While the email only referenced recruiting agents in Florida, it indicated that the program was not intended as just a regional initiative. Read more. | | P.S. Volume 2 of CP Magazine is here! If you'd like to help support Christian journalism, this digital-only offering runs just $19.99 annually—or get your free copy when you sign-up for a free Christian Post account. Sign-up to download your flipbook or PDF copy today. |
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| Indiana becomes 17th state to bar biological males from girls' sports; ACLU sues | | The Republican-controlled Indiana legislature has overridden Gov. Eric Holcomb’s veto of a bill banning biological males from participating in sports reserved for female student-athletes, prompting the American Civil Liberties Union to file a lawsuit seeking to block the legislation from taking effect. House Enrolled Act 1041, which states that biologically male students who identify as females "may not participate on an athletic team or sport designated under this section as being a female, women’s, or girls’ athletic team or sport," is scheduled to go into effect on July 1. While the ACLU has asserted the law is based on "misinformation about biology and gender," the American Principles Project–an organization that touts itself as "the premier national organization engaging directly in campaigns and advocacy on behalf of the family"–celebrated the veto override, stating, "We applaud Indiana legislators for overcoming Holcomb’s cowardice to protect their state’s girl athletes, and we urge the remaining states without such protections to act immediately to implement them." Read more. | | Also of Interest... | | Kentucky becomes 15th state to ban boys from competing in girls’ sportsSouth Carolina becomes 16th state to ban biological males from girls' sportsFemale swimmer says NCAA ordered her to take lesser trophy for photo op despite tie with trans athleteAlabama Gov. Kay Ivey signs bill banning genital mutilation of kids; violators to face felony charges | | School district settles atheist group's suit for $225K | | Mercer County Schools in West Virginia has agreed to pay $225,000 in plaintiff’s costs and attorney fees to end a lawsuit filed by an atheist group over once hosting an elective Bible class. The Bible in the Schools program course was first offered at Bluefield High School in 1939 and added to other schools in the county as time passed. In January 2017, the Freedom From Religion Foundation filed a lawsuit against Mercer County for the Bible class on behalf of Elizabeth Deal, whose daughter had been reportedly ostracized for refusing to take the course. Following a lengthy appeals process, the Mercer County's board of education passed a resolution that ended the Bible class in January 2019 rather than simply making revisions. Read more. | | Also of Interest... | | Atheist group lawsuit over West Virginia school Bible classes should move ahead: 4th CircuitJudge Rejects Atheist Group's Lawsuit Against West Virginia School District's Bible CourseW. Va. School District Tries to Dismiss Atheist Lawsuit Seeking to End Bible ClassesWest Virginia School Being Sued Over Elementary School Bible Course Considers Adding High School Bible Class | | Chicago bookstore accused of kicking out uniformed police officer | | A Chicago bookstore has been accused of asking a woman purporting to be an Illinois police officer to leave the store because it was not a "cop-friendly" business. The incident was first reported on May 17 by a Facebook user who says she walked into a store in uniform and was "told I couldn't be in there because of my equipment." She says that when she said she was on duty and could carry, she was told "this is not a cop-friendly space." Read more. |
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| Biden-backed WHO’s latest power grab fails | | In this op-ed, Joshua Arnold discusses the Biden administration's attempt to usurp Congress's public health authority by rewriting international law, noting the move "may have just encountered an untimely grave." Biden's proposed changes would "largely tend either to decrease the sovereignty of a state, increase the rights of other states to meddle in its affairs, and increase the power of WHO officials," prompting Senators Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) to send a letter to the President to complain the amendments would "grant unilateral authority to declare public health emergencies of international or regional concern to the WHO’s Director General and Regional Directors, respectively. This would be an alarming transfer of U.S. sovereignty to an unelected U.N. bureaucrat." Read more. | | Are Americans suffering from Stockholm Syndrome? | | Hedieh Mirahmadi discusses the trend of millions of Americans remaining trapped in the country's welfare system and learning to live without hope and prosperity. Asserting people are willing to make excuses for political failures and adapt to the so-called "new normal," Mirahmadi contends, "I believe this mentality of 'futility in resistance' to political and social captivity led many Americans to accept the draconian demands made during the COVID pandemic. Now it's the baby formula crisis and rising food and gas costs." Read more. |
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| God Cares About Your Mental Health | | The amount of people receiving counseling or therapy has seen a sharp jump since the start of 2020. A recent survey showed that 22.3 million Americans recently received counseling or therapy from mental-health professionals. | | If that’s you or someone you know, we just wanted to take a moment and say how proud we are of you reaching out and asking for help. | | If you’ve been thinking about getting into counseling but haven’t taken the step because of cost, we also wanted to offer a little bit of hope. | | We partner with a health care sharing ministry called Medi-Share. They’re a community of believers committed to connecting and equipping Christians to share each other's everyday burdens, and that includes mental health. | | One of the ways they live this out is by offering unlimited telecounseling and 24/7 telehealth to their members. Their members are able to request an appointment with a registered Christian counselor, attend marriage and family counseling, and, of course, all counseling calls are strictly confidential and Medi-Share does not receive any knowledge of the content or subject matter of each call. | | As Christians, we aren’t made to go through hard things alone. Galatians 6:2 instructs Christians to "Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." That’s what Medi-Share has done for me, and I know they’d love the chance to carry your burdens, too. | | |
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| San Francisco mayor says 'no' to pride parade over police uniform ban | | San Francisco Mayor London Breed, police and other first responders say they will not attend San Francisco's upcoming pride parade because organizers are barring LGBT officers from marching in uniform. In a statement released Monday, the San Francisco Police Officers Pride Alliance, along with LGBT members of the San Francisco Sheriff's Office and the San Francisco Fire Department, announced that they will not be marching in the parade unless the San Francisco Pride board reverses its decision to "not allow uniformed LGBTQ+ members of police agencies to march in this year's SF Pride celebration." In a statement published by KGO-TV, Breed explained, "[I]f the Pride Board does not reverse its decision, I will join our city public safety departments that are not participating in the Pride Parade." The ban came following nationwide outrage over the death of unarmed African American George Floyd while in police custody in 2020. Read more. |
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| Matthew McConaughey: We need to 'rearrange our values' | | Academy Award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey took to Instagram on Tuesday to address the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, the actor's hometown. "Once again we have tragically proven that we are failing to be responsible for the rights our freedoms grant us," the actor said. "As Americans, Texans, mothers and fathers, it’s time we re-evaluate, and renegotiate our wants from our needs. We have to rearrange our values and find a common ground above this devastating American reality that has tragically become our children’s issue." McConaughey, who regularly attends church, stressed that mass shootings are an "epidemic we can control," asserting that "Action must be taken so that no parent has to experience what the parents in Uvalde and the others before them have endured." Read more. | | Josh Duggar gets 12 years for child porn | Former reality TV star Josh Duggar was sentenced to approximately 12.5 years in prison on Wednesday after being convicted in December of receiving and possessing child pornography. The possession of child pornography charge was dismissed. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin Roberts previously told the media that "possession of child pornography is a lesser included offense" and that "by function of law, you can't be convicted of both." Duggar, who rose to fame as the eldest child of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar on the TLC show "19 Kids & Counting," was also ordered to pay $50,100 in fines. Read more.
| | | | Also of Interest... | | Josh Duggar files motion for acquittal or new trial after child pornography convictionsOver 200 child porn images of kids as young as 18 months found on Josh Duggar’s devices; sister recounts ‘nightmare’ Josh Duggar’s family members react to child porn guilty verdict: 'Felt more like a funeral'Judge refuses to dismiss Duggar sisters' 'invasion of privacy' lawsuit against police, county | | | | | | Thank you for spending part of your day with us. We look forward to seeing you again tomorrow! -- CP Editors |
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