Are the millions of lives lost to abortion less important than lives lost to gun violence?

Dr. Harry L. Reeder III 8 months ago

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Read the transcript:

MARCH FOR OUR LIVES TOUTED BY MEDIA

TOM LAMPRECHT: Harry, today in the news, I want to talk about the March for Our Lives. Now, this was the march that took place two weekends ago. As we compare the March for Our Lives and the March for Life, commemorating the terrible decision by the Supreme Court of Roe v. Wade, it’s interesting to note that the coverage by the major news networks was 13 times more for March for Our Lives than it was for the March for Life, which took place back in January.

The poster child for the March for Our Lives is a young man named David Hogg, out of the South Florida high school where the terrible shooting took place. It’s sort of a sad commentary that David has decided to have just a profanity-ridden rant every time he goes on the TV.

DR. REEDER: Yeah, and after the avalanche of profanity, the young man was asked, “What policy changes?” and he said, “Well, I don’t know what policy changes. I’m a teenager. You’re an adult. You ought to come up with policy changes.” Well, actually, the adults that have been funding these things do have a policy change in mind.

WHO ARE THE ADULTS WHO ARE PROMOTING THIS?

Let’s back up just for a minute, Tom, and ask ourselves the question, “Why is it that you have this massive response to this situation of the March for Our Lives?” As you rightly point out, it’s not even comparable to the issue of the March for Life. The March for Our Lives is generated from the horrific shooting. We’re told that the problem is “gun violence”.

Now, what does the March for Life do? Well, it looks at not dozens of lives lost in a schoolroom, but it looks at millions of lives that are being lost in the womb. And so, when you take a look at the overwhelming statistical difference, you would think that the media, just on the basis of any objective reporting standards, would give attention to the March for Life, but they don’t — they pretty well now bury it on the third page and beyond — but they are fascinated with this. Why?

We don’t want to send our kids to school and have to worry about if they’re going to be gunned down. And we ask ourselves, “Is that because of guns or are guns actually a go-to instrument that’s being used in a culture of death?”

This young man has called for a response from “the adult population” with an adolescent fascination with profanity. He is now being promoted or “puffed” by the media and what he’s doing, of course, is somewhat revealing because you see the inability of our culture to discuss issues without resorting to epithets, name-calling and also profanity.

I still hold pretty much to what I learned growing up where my dad and mom told me that, when people in a conversation or a debate resort to profanity and blasphemy, that reveals one of two things: Either their argument is weak and therefore they have to prop it up with profanity or the one presenting the argument is weak in terms of vocabulary and has to resort to profanity. And I think that’s true in this matter as well if we have a valid discussion on this, Tom.

WHEN DID GUNS BECOME A WEAPON OF VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN?

I went to school in a rural area — I was in a county high school — and a lot of the guys would come with guns in their truck. You actually had target practice classes that you could go to. How did we move in the culture to that place where you didn’t even worry about it because people would not have thought of it? How did we get there?

And, of course, you not only see this violence with the use of guns, but you also see the depression that is taking place among our young people. They are now reaching out for the answer to their significance in life with these horrific acts and their “15 minutes” — and, in this case, of course, stretches into days and months of weeks — of fame and notoriety. Why is that happening?

It’s not the presence of guns. With all due respect, guns don’t do violence — guns are instruments that can do violence. The question is, “Why are guns now being used in such a violent manner and they’re being used at places that would have been unthinkable such as churches and schools, etc.? Why is that happening?”

CULTURAL PASTIMES HOLD CLUE TO MINDSET CHANGE

Could we, perhaps, take a look at our culture that the adults are now foisting upon the young people such as video games where violence is objectified and video games where you’re rewarded for killing faceless people with horrific acts and pornography that objectifies women?

Should we be so amazed that people who spend hours in front of pornography walk into a business environment and objectify women in their comments? What is it that is filling the minds and hearts of the people in the culture? That’s what’s producing people who then do what would previously be unthinkable acts within the culture.

IS THIS A LARGER SECOND AMENDMENT ISSUE?

Tom, those are the questions we ought to be asking ourselves but then we’re back to why is this movement so publicized? Well, I think, very clearly, the Second Amendment is the target and, therefore, there has to be a discussion of why is there the Second Amendment? Well, the simple fact is the Second Amendment is there because the founding fathers believed in the sanctity of self-protection and the protection of the states from a runaway government so that they would be able to arm their citizens and could respond to any tyrannical move of the government.

What we need to ask ourselves is why is the valid provision of the Second Amendment now being used as a mechanism to access a weapon to be used for violence that objectifies people at targets to carry out my despair and depression in life? What is causing the despair and depression in the culture and what is it that is causing people to think in that direction?

That’s really what the adults ought to bring to the conversation but, instead, the adults are using the First Amendment right of assembly and free speech — which was exercised in the March for Our Lives — which we must preserve that First Amendment right but, yet, those with an agenda to remove the Second Amendment funded and are now using the valid concerns of these students in order to promote their own agenda. And then they also fasten themselves on a spokesperson who then brings the passion of profanity to bear upon the entire exercise.

CHRIST’S MESSAGE OF HOPE IS THE ONLY REMEDY TO OUR CULTURE

Let’s realize the dynamic of what’s happening in the coarsening of our culture but I think there’s something even more fundamental for believers and that’s this: let’s bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to bear upon the culture and the glorious statement of life and what it means to live life and that life is not hiding away in a room playing video games that objectify violence and people as faceless targets for violence that creates this environment of despair and this environment of depression in which aggressive behavior against others becomes the route of affirming myself from faceless notoriety to being somebody in the culture.

Let’s bring the truth of the Gospel in the dignity of humanity, the glory of the love of Christ for sinners, and the reclamation that you are made and saved for a distinct purpose in life, and that there is dignity to life, and there is dignity to being made in the image of God and there is hope in being restored by the glorious presence of Christ who died for our sins and again that we might have life and that we might have life abundantly filled with hope.

Therefore, while I want to speak to the constitutional issues and I want to challenge people to think of the culture that is producing these acts of violence whereby the adults have affirmed violence against children in the womb, then why are we amazed when the children grow up and decide to bring violence against other children, not in the womb but in a classroom? What is it in our culture that’s doing that?

What we’ve got to bring is the hope of the Gospel to the culture, recognizing all of those factors and the death spiral of the culture that’s producing it. What is it that we can bring that will elevate people to hope and life? And I believe it’s the glorious news that Jesus Christ is the Redeemer of sinners and takes us from hopelessness to a blessed hope that is unconquerable and that makes men and women walk in the hope of new life and eternal life in Christ.

Dr. Harry L. Reeder III is the Senior Pastor of Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham.

This podcast was transcribed by Jessica Havin, editorial assistant for Yellowhammer News, who transcribed some of the top podcasts in the country and whose work has been featured in a New York Times Bestseller.

Sean Ross 10 hours ago

Hoover protest leader calls for nationwide boycott of all stores, restaurants with locations at Riverchase Galleria

Carlos Chaverst, Jr., the president of the Birmingham Justice League and self-proclaimed leader of protesting in Hoover, on Tuesday called for a nationwide boycott of all stores and restaurants with locations at the Riverchase Galleria.

In a press release, Chaverst said, “In addition to protests resuming throughout the City of Hoover, The Justice League is attempting to coordinate efforts with grass roots organizations all over the country to boycott the stores and restaurants that are inside the Riverchase Galleria if their demands for justice and transparency are not answered! Those stores include Bath & Body Works, Belk, Dave & Busters, Express, Gap, GNC, H&M, JC Penney, Macy’s, Old Navy, Sears, Victoria’s Secret, and Von Maur just to name a few.”

He called this “broadening the scope of the boycott,” while adding protests will continue “escalating.”

Chaverst has been the face of protests since a Hoover Police officer shot and killed Emantic “E.J.” Bradford, Jr. on Thanksgiving night at the Galleria.

Chaverst listed the following demands in his Tuesday press release:

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1. We want those individuals who knowingly lied about the events of Thanksgiving night leading to the murder of Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford, Jr. to resign or be terminated immediately!
2. We want Hoover to ask for a Justice Department investigation into its own police department for mistreatment of minorities (citizens AND officers on the police force).
3. We want a “Citizens Review Board” with subpoena power created by the City of Hoover.
4. We want to know the status (paid or unpaid?) of the officer that killed “EJ” Bradford and we want the City of Hoover to keep it’s word of having weekly updates.

To be clear, while Hoover officials apologized for initially misidentifying Bradford as the shooter of an 18-year-old and 12-year-old at the Galleria on the night of his death, there has been no public assertion by the Bradford family or their attorney that officials “knowingly lied.”

It should also be noted that Chaverst has accused the city of not sending out a weekly update this week, hence his last point in demand number four. However, the city and the police department did in fact issue that update as a joint press release on Monday, which was reported by Yellowhammer News and outlets across the state.

The investigation into Bradford’s death and the entirety of the Galleria tragedy is currently entirely out of Hoover’s jurisdiction and control, with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s (ALEA) State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) handling the case.

While Chaverst spearheads the protests themselves and acts as the public face of “the movement,” the Nation of Islam’s Birmingham leader, student minister Tremon Muhammad, is leading the boycott as part of a greater “war.”

In addition to Chaverst’s press release, he also took to Facebook to request that people donate money and items to the protesters, including bandanas, facemasks, first aid kits and “healthy snacks.”

Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn

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Sean Ross 13 hours ago

Proposed Waters of the United States guidelines praised as good for Alabama farmers, landowners

Federal officials proposed new Waters of the United States (WOTUS) guidelines on Monday to help protect farmers and landowners from intrusive government regulations, per a release from the Alabama Farmers Federation.

In their proposal, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers clarified federal authority under the Clean Water Act.

Alabama Farmers Federation President Jimmy Parnell applauded the newly proposed definition, which excludes ditches from regulation unless they contribute flow to a perennial or intermittent stream.

“The proposed rule is good news for Alabama farmers and restores common sense to Clean Water Act enforcement,” Parnell said.

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He continued, “For several years, farmers, businesses and homeowners have lived under the threat of government intrusion and costly penalties due to overaggressive actions of the Obama-era EPA. We appreciate the Trump administration, current EPA administration, Alabama’s congressional delegation and our state attorneys general for standing by farmers and landowners as we’ve fought back against the WOTUS rule.”

Under the proposal, federally regulated areas would include traditional navigable waters, tributaries to those waters, some ditches, certain lakes and ponds, impoundments of jurisdictional waters and wetlands adjacent to jurisdictional waters.

The proposal also details non-waters of the U.S., such as areas that only contain water during or in response to rainfall, many ditches (including most roadside or farm ditches), prior converted cropland, stormwater control features and waste treatment systems.

Great news from @EPA & @USACEHQ, who today proposed to revise the burdensome #WOTUS rule. The proposal would provide long-overdue, much-needed clarity for American farmers and small businesses, while maintaining well-established protections for lakes and rivers.

— Richard Shelby (@SenShelby) December 11, 2018

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall also thanked the EPA and Corps for investing time in a common sense rule that will allow farmers to comply with the law while protecting water resources.

“Clean water is our way of life. Preserving our land and protecting our water means healthy places to live, work and play,” Duvall outlined. “We believe this new Clean Water Rule is rooted in common sense. It will protect our nation’s water resources and allow farmers to farm.”

Today’s announcement is the second part in a two-step process to review and revise the definition of WOTUS consistent with President Donald Trump’s February 2017 executive order. The first step was initiating a repeal of the Obama administration rule, which was put in place in 2015 but is only in effect in 22 states because of a barrage of state lawsuits challenging it.

Various courts upheld the challenges and postponed the law from going into effect within the boundaries of a bevy of states, including Alabama.

A 60-day comment period on the second part of the process, proposing the revised rule, is now underway.

The EPA and the Corps will hold an informational webcast January 10 and will then host a listening session on the proposed rule January 23 in Kansas City, Kansas.

Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn

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Greg Reed 14 hours ago

Greg Reed: A Medicaid program built around families and communities

The elections of November 6 are over, and now, in Washington and in Montgomery legislators again take up the task of governing. As the leader of Alabama’s 27 Republican state senators, my focus is on working with other lawmakers and Governor Kay Ivey to make state government more efficient and to keep job growth strong.

Reforming the state’s Medicaid program is one of the toughest challenges we face in the coming year. Medicaid, the federally-mandated health insurance program for pregnant women, children, low-income adults, the elderly and the disabled, is by far the largest line item in the state’s General Fund — Medicaid by itself accounts for 37 percent of all non-education state spending and its budget for the current year is $755 million. For context, state prisons consume 23 percent and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (state troopers) uses 2.5 percent of non-education spending.

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The aging of America’s population as the Baby Boomers retire puts enormous stress on government-run health insurance programs like Medicaid. About 10,000 Boomers retire every day, and the U.S. Census Bureau predicts that by 2035, the number of adults aged 65 and older in America will outstrip the number of children under the age of 18. In Alabama, the population of folks aged 65 and older is expected to grow by 25 percent between now and 2025. This coming demographic tidal wave threatens to swamp a number of government programs, including Medicaid.

For the past five years, I have worked with Medicaid Commissioner Stephanie Azar to craft a new health care model that better serves the growing number of senior citizens in Alabama who are in Medicaid’s long-term care. Thankfully, this year Alabama received approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in Washington to move ahead with the Integrated Care Network (ICN). This reform will offer senior citizens on Medicaid additional health care choices and is projected to save, over the long run, tens of millions of taxpayer dollars.

Here is how the ICN will work: in October of this year, the state Medicaid agency partnered with an Alabama health care provider that will now serve the medical needs of the 23,000 senior citizens who are receiving Medicaid’s long-term care services, 70 percent of whom are in nursing homes. By partnering with an expert health care provider based in Alabama, Medicaid can offer its long-term patients better care — and thus allow more Medicaid recipients to stay longer in the comfort of their own home.

Medicaid recipients can still opt for a nursing home, and no benefits are changed under this new system. But by partnering with a health care provider that is an expert in managed care, Medicaid can bend the cost curve down, offer improved health care, and give more of Alabama’s senior citizens an opportunity to stay a little longer in their homes and communities.

For my wife and me, one of the greatest privileges in life is spending time with our parents — and as the years have passed, we, like so many Alabama families, have discussed the future and begun to plan for the day when our parents will need additional help.

As a legislator, I think often about how the policies that I vote on will affect the lives of my friends and neighbors. The Integrated Care Network is just getting started, but I am optimistic that this reform will improve the quality of life for many families in Alabama and put Medicaid on a sounder financial footing.

Greg Reed (R-Jasper) is the Alabama Senate Majority Leader and represents Senate District 5, which is comprised of all or parts of Winston, Walker, Tuscaloosa, Jefferson and Fayette counties.

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Sean Ross 15 hours ago

Sessions makes first speech since resigning as attorney general, still supports Trump’s agenda

MONTGOMERY — Speaking at the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce’s 146th annual meeting on Tuesday, former Attorney General Jeff Sessions delivered his first public remarks since leaving President Donald Trump’s administration.

Despite his forced resignation and having been on the raw end of several Trump tweets and public comments this year, Sessions graciously made clear that he still supports the work the president is doing, praising the administration’s successes and some ongoing agenda items in a roughly 20-minute speech. He did not directly address speculation that he could run to return to the United States Senate in 2020.

He did, however, add some levity to the situation, with the crowd of approximately 600 enjoying a few trademark Sessions jokes.

“I’ve had a few ups and downs in the last two years,” Sessions remarked while thanking Bishop Lawson and Cheryl Bryan, who were in attendance. “And every now and then, it’s good to know your bishop is praying for you.”

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A couple of minutes later, Sessions spoke on some federal issues of note.

“On the Make America Great Again front, I will cite these words from Friday’s Wall Street Journal: Wage growth matched the highest rate in nearly a decade and unemployment held at its lowest rate in nearly half a century at 3.7 percent. This is the lowest rate since 1969,” Sessions outlined.

He continued, referring to his wife sitting some yards away from him, “That’s when Mary and I married – 1969.”

Sessions then spoke about the benefits of getting people working again across the nation, while saying that the workforce participation rate still needs improvement.

“So, personally, I’m attempting to chill out a bit,” Sessions said, transitioning away from speaking on the economy.

“You can be sure that I don’t follow the tweets as closely as I used to,” he added to great laughter and a smattering of applause.

Sessions added, “Having served in the Department of Justice for almost 15 years plus 20 on the [Senate] Judiciary Committee, I well knew that AG’s frequently face difficult choices and decisions which, almost inevitably, create some controversy. But this very public adventure, I gotta say, exceeded my expectations.”

The former attorney general and United States senator then continued to emphasize that he remains supportive of Trump and their shared agenda.

“I’m proud of President Trump’s policy agenda and to have had a part in it,” Sessions said. “He is driven to succeed and much of his frustration arises from his inability to move the bureaucracy to achieve what he believes oughta be achieved fast enough.”

Perhaps quoting Kanye West for the first time, Sessions commented, “[Trump] has dragon energy. Think that’s a good description of it, really.”

He then talked about his “love” for the Department of Justice, outlining the successes of his tenure in a similar manner to his speech in Hoover this fall.

“I poured my heart into our work and was pleased to be able to advance the president’s policies, which were my policies and good for America,” Sessions explained.

After listing some of the many accomplishments of his time as attorney general for several minutes, Sessions said that the DOJ’s recent work was just one way that “the rule of law” was being affirmed.

“First, and of monumental importance, the president continues to nominate the best group of highly qualified federal judges ever, in my opinion,” Sessions advised. “These judges understand that they adjudicate under the constitution – they’re not above it. And they know they are to be neutral umpires.”

In a timely manner with Tuesday’s announcement that Ben Shapiro will speak at the University of Alabama during the spring, Sessions also touched on his support of free speech on campuses.

“We’ve defended free speech on campus. Goodness gracious, [it’s] hard to believe the attacks on speech on campus,” Sessions said.

After getting into the weeds a little on more ways the DOJ defended the constitution under his watch, Sessions concluded his remarks.

“[W]e have the greatest legal system in the history of the world,” Sessions outlined. “This government, and especially the attorney general, must give his best effort every day to uphold and defend this heritage we have been so blessed to receive.”

“To that end, as God has given me the ability, I have been dedicated. I am satisfied our work has met the highest standards. Thank you for your friendship, your understanding, your support and for allowing me to represent the great people of this fabulous state. I love it. And of the United States. Thank you all and may God bless America and God bless this great state,” he concluded.

Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn

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Dale Jackson 15 hours ago

Ledbetter: Around a ’75 percent’ chance higher gas tax passes

The gas tax may be a foregone conclusion if you listen to the leadership of the Alabama legislature.

Infrastructure needs are undoubtedly a priority heading into the next legislative session; how they get addressed is the battle we will see fought out.

A gas tax of up to 12 cents a gallon has been discussed, but according to Alabama House Majority Leader Nathaniel Ledbetter, the target for a tax increase in Alabama is more likely to be in the six to 10 cent range, which could raise between $180 million and $300 million dollars a year.

While appearing Tuesday on WVNN’s “The Dale Jackson Show,” Ledbetter was optimistic about the chances of the tax passing legislation.

Without any particular promises made, he referred to the need for a “clean bill” that he believes makes the passage easier.

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In spite of that desire, there are pressing needs in every part of the state and constituents will want their needs addressed, but he agreed that every caveat carved out weakens the bill and makes it less likely to pass.

In the interview, Ledbetter signaled a strategy that will be unveiled to convince Alabama voters that a gas tax increase isn’t that bad and surrounding states have higher taxes so we should increase ours as well, arguing it would be a “reasonable” tax.

Ledbetter stated, “You know Georgia did 26 on gas, 29 on diesel with a five dollar lodging fee.”

“We’re not gonna do that,” he added.

Ledbetter then continued to point out Alabama’s higher tax neighbors, “Tennessee put 10 cents on, Louisiana put 18 cents on. I think we’re going to be more reasonable with what we do and we need to do it for the right reasons.”

A strategy for the gas tax is being unveiled before our eyes: using county commissioners to lobby legislators for a higher gas tax and compare Alabama’s taxes to our neighbors.

Will it work? Ledbetter said there is around a 75 percent chance it will.

Listen:

@TheDaleJackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 7-11 am weekdays on WVNN

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