Daily Archives: October 30, 2019

This whole concept of political correctness its going to destroy our nation. That was the no-nonsense response of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson last week to Rep. Jennifer Wexton, D-Va.

Wexton was trying for a gotcha moment in a congressional hearing when she asked Carson if he would apologize for being quoted for expressing concern over big, hairy men trying to gain entry to an Alaska womens homeless shelter.

I could not have said it better. On the most recent edition of Washington Watch, Carsonor Dr. Politically Incorrect, as Ive called himjoined me to make it clear he will not kowtow to political correctness.

Its foolishness because, you know, the First Amendment guarantees people freedom of speech, he said. What political correctness does is it makes people afraid to express themselves. So coming in the back door, it actually suppresses the First Amendment. And we need to be very, very wary of anything that takes away our constitutional rights.

Carson went on to nail the consequences of caving into the lefts tantrums:

Anything that doesnt agree with them is a hateful word, and thats what I mean when I said we need to be more mature than that. Thats what I might expect from a third-grade playground. If we make everything such a sensitive subject and everybody has to sit down and filter everything that they say, and were listening carefully to their words instead of what their meaning is, what do we become as a society and as a people?

Weve got to nip it in the bud before it gets to the place where everybody just is silent. And they cant say anything because its going to offend somebody.

Carson is speaking up for what is a commonsense policy: Sexually assaulted and abused women seeking shelter should not be forced to sleep next to men who think or act like they are women when they are biological men.

But he is also speaking up for free speech and freedom of religion. The left portrays the Trump administration as lacking compassion for people who need housing, but the opposite is true.

It is the Department of House and Urban Development under Carsons leadership that has expanded access to people who need housing because the agency is once again allowing faith-based organizations to partner with the government after they were excluded during the Obama years. This inclusion of faith-based organization helps meet the needs in local communities all across America.

The Obama administration required faith-based groups to leave their faith at the door and pushed bizarre policies that put men in womens homeless shelters. Thankfully, we have a HUD secretary who understands the principle that has guided America for centuriesequal rights for all, special rights for none.

Thats what makes America work, not political correctness.

Originally published in Tony PerkinsWashington Update, which is written with the aid of Family Research Council senior writers.

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Ben Carson Rejects Political Correctness as Fatal to the Nation - Daily Signal

The Thanksgiving Play

Written by Larissa Fasthorse, Directed by Scott Edmiston; Scenic Design, Janie E. Howland; Costume Design, Rachel Padula-Shufelt; Lighting Design, Karen Perlow; Sound Design and Original Music, Dewey Dellay; Props Artisan, Jennifer Butler; Production Stage Manager, Diane McLean; Assistant Stage Manager, Betsy Pierce

CAST: Amanda Collins, Jesse Hinson, Grace Experience, Barlow Adamson

Performances through November 10 at Lyric Stage Company, 140 Clarendon Street, Boston, MA; Box Office 617-585-5678 or http://www.lyricstage.com

Get in the mood for the rapidly approaching holiday season by going to the Lyric Stage Company of Boston's production of The Thanksgiving Play, a sharp and funny satire by Native American playwright Larissa Fasthorse that holds a mirror up to reflect the craziness of political correctness on steroids. How does a quartet of white theater artists tell the Thanksgiving story and honor Native American Heritage Month in a 45-minute elementary school play without offending anyone while being historically accurate? Very carefully, and not without numerous false starts, each one more ridiculous than the last, until not to decide is to decide.

FastHorse scripts a wild ride that Director Scott Edmiston wrangles into a delectable offering, thanks to the great ensemble work and comedic skills of Amanda Collins (Logan), Jesse Hinson (Jaxton), Barlow Adamson (Caden), and Grace Experience (Alicia). Logan is a drama teacher who is anxious to create a meaningful play while responding to the requirements of several overseers. Her boyfriend Jaxton is an earthy-crunchy, yoga-loving street performer who is uber-supportive of Logan's needs, and together they aspire to be allies to people of all stripes and beliefs. Caden, a geeky third grade teacher, is their history expert and wannabe playwright, and Alicia is a beautiful actress from Los Angeles hired to provide the Native American perspective to the project.

As different as they are from each other, the characters share their whiteness and varying degrees of cluelessness about the subject matter they're trying to dramatize and the unrepresented people whose viewpoint is essential to an accurate narrative. Even as she is making gentle fun of her characters, FastHorse draws them sympathetically, making them likable and making it clear that no one has a nefarious agenda. Simply, their desire to do the right thing far exceeds their capacity to do so. Watching them interact with each other, we see a broad range of reactions, with patience, frustration, and confusion topping the list.

For those of you who think it might be easy to devise an appropriate play, FastHorse provides brief interstitial scenes, a series of vignettes inspired by actual teachers' Pinterest boards showing lame attempts to put on a Thanksgiving play. Edmiston has fun staging these snippets, with a big assist from costume designer Rachel Padula-Shufelt. They serve as examples of what many of us probably grew up with in elementary school, as well as what Logan et al are trying desperately to avoid in their devised educational piece. Knowing that this is satire, it makes it easy to relax and laugh at it, although if we're being honest, we are actually laughing at ourselves.

Significant points hiding in plain sight in The Thanksgiving Play include the seriousness with which Logan and Jaxton take themselves, Caden's need to explicitly follow the history as he knows it, and Alicia's buy-in to the American beauty culture. The more serious the characters become, the more ridiculous they are and the funnier the play becomes. Adding to the overall enjoyment is a feeling of nostalgia, visually evoked by Janie E. Howland's classroom design, the visceral connection to this most American of holidays (be it positive or negative), and the experience of sitting in the dark and laughing with a bunch of strangers who share our love of good theater.

Photo credit: Glenn Perry (Jesse Hinson, Amanda Collins)

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BWW Review: THE THANKSGIVING PLAY: Pardon Our Political Correctness - Broadway World

In a strange sort of way, a recent Sky News story reminded me of Luke 11. Thats where Jesus asks whether, if your child asked fora fish, youd give them a snake? Or if they askedfor an egg, would you hand them a scorpion?

Heres the articles headline: Hundreds of young trans people seeking help to return to original sex. The story featured a woman who, after publicly admitting regret over her so-called surgical transition, was contacted by hundreds of people in her part of England who felt the same way.

One of those people, Ruby, also struggledwith eating disorders.One would think that thecombinationof gender dysphoria and eating disorders wouldsuggest to medical professionals that Ruby was suffering from body image issues. But, as she told Sky News,the doctors never even suggested there might be a connection there worth exploring.

Instead, it was Heres your hormones, heres your surgery, off you go.Or, to borrow Jesus words, Heres your scorpion, heres your snake.

This story is far from uncommon.Youngpeoplein emotionalpain and distress are asking adults for help. But, because of our ideological blind spots, we give them serpents and scorpions instead of what they really need.

Just consider the name given toa new childrens pediatric clinicat Akron Childrens Hospital: Center for Gender Affirming Medicine. Since the fundamental connection between gender and biological reality has already been severed by our ideological commitments, its safe to assume that doctors there will affirm, both in their diagnoses and with their prescribed treatments, whatever gender a child claims they are.

But what about the Rubys of the world? What about the hundreds of people in that one part of England who were given the wrong treatment for their psychological issues? They are victims of our bad ideas, and our blind spots. Too often, they are forced to be invisible victims, ignored because their very existence challenges the new sexual orthodoxy.

Many physicians today simply ignore that up to80 percent of the children who suffer from gender dysphoria will eventually outgrow those feelings. Even worse, they fail to connect the dots between gender dysphoria and potentially serious mental illnesses that often accompany itlike depression and generalized anxiety disorder. Or, in Rubys case, a severe eating disorder.

Multiple issues like this spark the chicken and egg questions. Does gender dysphoria cause depression and anxiety? Or is gender dysphoria a symptom of depression and anxiety?Thetruthis that no one knows with any certainty. But, the new gender ideology is leading many professionals to proceed with treatment as if gender dysphoria is no disorder at all.

So, the best treatment (the theory goes) is to affirm the young personsbelief that they are transgender and initiate the transition process as soon as possible. This will supposedly reduce the inner conflict, and in turn help with their other disorders.

This neat and tidy theory has one big problem: Theres no evidence it works.In fact, evidence points the other way.A 2011 study that followed 324 Swedish menwho had undergone sexual reassignment surgery found that 10-15 years later,their suicide ratewas 20 times higher thanthat of their peers.

Anearlier study in Britaincommissionedby the Guardiannewspaperfound that There is no conclusive evidence that sex change operations improve the lives of transsexuals, with many people remaining severely distressed and even suicidal after the operation . . .

Today, affirmation passes for care, not because it actually is, but because it affirms gender ideology, even ifit leads to life-altering surgery or hormonal treatments.If the patient later regrets it, or hurts themselves, or are miserable, well just blame it on transphobia.

Ideas have consequences. Bad ideas have victims. We need to ensure that the victims of bad gender ideology are no longer invisible. Their stories must be heard.

Download MP3 Audio Here.

BreakPointis a program of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. BreakPoint commentaries offer incisive content people can't find anywhere else; content that cuts through the fog of relativism and the news cycle with truth and compassion. Founded by Chuck Colson (1931 2012) in 1991 as a daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today's news and trends. Today, you can get it in written and a variety of audio formats: on the web, the radio, or your favorite podcast app on the go.

John Stonestreetis President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, and radio host ofBreakPoint,a daily national radio program providing thought-provoking commentaries on current events and life issues from a biblical worldview. John holds degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (IL) and Bryan College (TN),and is the co-author ofMaking Sense of Your World: A Biblical Worldview.

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Affirming Rather than Treating Gender Dysphoria: The Invisible Victims of Political Correctness - Christianheadlines.com

Players and coaches often wont outright admit that some games mean more than others either out of political correctness or respect for their opponents. But the reality of college football and sports for that matter is that all games are not created equally, and thats perfectly fine.

For weeks, members of the Florida football team have been saying something along the lines of this is the biggest game of the season because its the next game.

Well, this Saturdays game against Georgia is truly the biggest game of the season.

The Worlds Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party gets this honor by virtue of it being a rivalry game, having College Football Playoff implications and its winner deciding which team represents the SEC East in the conference championship game over the past four years.

The No. 6 Gators expect to be healthy for their third top-10 matchup of the season against No. 8 Georgia.

Linebacker Jonathan Greenard (ankle), defensive end Jabari Zuniga (ankle) and wide receiver Kadarius Toney (shoulder) are all expected to return.

It will be good with everybody back there, even on the offensive side with KT (Toney), Greenard said. Just seeing guys like that running the ball again, Zu (Zuniga) back out there and everybody back out there how it was Week 1 or Week 0.

His comment shows just how long its been since the Gators (7-1, 4-1 SEC) have not had key contributors sidelined. UF will welcome the reinforcements on both sides of the ball.

In its past two meetings with Georgia (6-1, 3-1 SEC), Florida has been outscored 78-24.

The Bulldogs offense runs through its ground game and it has been stellar in that regard during its current win streak over Florida. UGA has run for 481 yards in the teams past two meetings, including 104 yards by running back DAndre Swift last year.

Having Greenard and Zuniga back will bolster the Gators run defense, which suffered in their absence. Their return will also help the pass rush against Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm, one of the most accurate passers in the FBS. Hes ranked eighth in the nation in completion percentage, connecting on more than 70 percent of his passes.

He's a patient, smart quarterback who doesn't do anything to lose the game, Greenard said.

Fromm, though, is coming off the lowest passing yardage total of his career (35) in an underwhelming 21-0 win over Kentucky. This came after a 20-17 overtime loss at home to unranked South Carolina, a team UF beat on the road 38-27 two weeks ago.

Still, Fromm is 2-0 in his career against the Gators and has thrown four touchdowns to one interception in those games.

On the other side of the ball, Florida has struggled against UGA as well. The Gators have less than 200 passing yards in their past two games against the Bulldogs.

But this season, UFs offense is more defined by its aerial attack than its running game with the emergence of quarterback Kyle Trask and the comfort of having one of the deepest receiving rooms in college football. And Toneys return only bolsters Floridas best unit.

I think its going to help our offense a lot this week, just having him back as a weapon, going against a great defense like Georgia has, Trask said.

The road to Atlanta will be paved in Jacksonville this weekend. Florida is better prepared to knock off Georgia than it has been in three years and the Bulldogs appear more vulnerable than they have been in that same time frame.

Weve got a chance to make the SEC Championship, cornerback C.J. Henderson said. It starts with this game.

Follow Kyle Wood on Twitter @Kkylewood. Contact him at[emailprotected]

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Gators better positioned for Georgia game than in recent years - The Independent Florida Alligator

A skull door knocker and cobweb decorations on the day before Halloween in Philadelphia. Bastiaan Slabbers/Getty Images hide caption

A skull door knocker and cobweb decorations on the day before Halloween in Philadelphia.

It's that time of year: Leaves are falling, temperatures are dropping, families are heading out to the pumpkin patch and that one neighbor is preparing to hand out raisins to kids who'd much, much rather have candy. All is well at least until our social media feeds are flooded with the annual onslaught of racial Halloween faux pas.

Often these incidents trigger debate about what should and shouldn't be allowed when it comes to festivities. It's a tired conversation that often ends in diatribes about the tyranny of political correctness and how no one knows how to have fun anymore. We don't want to have that conversation; we'd rather just eat our treats in peace. That's why we're bringing you our Code Switch Guide to Halloween. Unsure if your decorations have racial overtones? Wondering what costumes are fair game? We've got you covered so you can have some fearful fun.

Let's start with some terminology: Halloween is all about the fantastical world of horror. Scary costumes, eerie noises, creepy decorations, cursed images. But ... "spooky"? It's a term some people use around this time of year without much thought. But in the era after World War II, it also became a slur for black people. An Ask Code Switch reader wrote in 2017 to ask us about the appropriate use of "spook" and "spooky," so we dove into its history and offered some guidance:

"Be thoughtful about the fact that [spook] now might have the connotation of referring to a black person in a disparaging way," sociolinguist Renee Blake told us. "If someone says, 'Did you get spooked?' and there are no black people there, then, OK, you mean 'Did you get scared or frightened?' That's fine I get it." In other words, be conscious of your surroundings.

Of course, when it comes to Halloween, language is just the beginning.

We have a joke here at Code Switch that Halloween is like blackface Christmas. And every year, there's at least one headline with the story of one very tasteless costume. These scandals cycle back around again and again and again.

When it comes to this topic, we've been there before with a whole podcast episode about it. As our very own Gene Demby put it, in response to the infamous Megyn Kelly statement that she didn't understand why blackface on Halloween is a problem: "Maybe these annual conversations should be less about whether blackface is bad, but why so many of us have so much historical illiteracy about its badness."

Sure, no one ever *really* intends to offend others with their rendition of a famous black character or icon (do they?), but intent shouldn't be at the forefront of our examination (nor should it take precedent in the apology that follows).

Moving on from shoe polish, here are some more costume ideas that fit into our do's and don'ts.

First, under the do's:

Go for one of the classics: pirate, astronaut, ghost, cheerleader. You know the drill. Or spice it up with some pop culture creativity: Harness physiological terror by dressing up as a Tethered from Us, an alien at Area 51 or, if you're looking for a group costume, 30 to 50 feral hogs.

Now for some don'ts:

Let's start with the obvious. Stay away from the sexy Indian fringe-and-headdresses idea (there's nothing erotic about genocide!). Geisha wear (yes, this includes kimonos) and transphobic ensembles are also off-limits. Anything that makes a spectacle out of a culture or ethnicity is to be avoided.

But what if there hasn't been a media storm condemning a certain costume and you still sense something is off? Like when a reader wrote to us about her child wanting to dress as a voodoo doll. "I don't know enough about Louisiana culture or African religious traditions to know whether this would hurt or offend someone," she said.

Her instinct that something felt off? Right on the mark. NPR's Leah Donnella scouted out the origins of "voodoo" and its use as a catchall for many religions. The best known of those is Haitian Vodou, which is vastly misunderstood by Americans and is not to be confused with what you see in movies like Indiana Jones or The Princess and the Frog. The conclusion, as our story put it, is that "when it comes to Halloween, treat Vodou like you would any other faith. That is to say, don't delve into anyone else's religious traditions (real or dreamed up by Hollywood) in search of a costume."

All in all, you should trust your suspicions. If you have to ask yourself whether your costume is offensive, it likely is. And you don't want to be the only one in on the joke.

Great. So your language is in check. Your costume is in check. You're on track to become the best on the block. Now let's talk decorations.

There are endless ways to funk up your displays: jack-o'-lanterns, broomsticks and cobwebs. But then there are optics that send a much more sinister message. In 2018 we answered a question from a listener who asked about hanging skeletons by a noose outside his home. Was this, he wanted to know, reminiscent of a lynching?

Well, yeah. Images carry meaning that far surpass what may appear to be true at face value. It's our responsibility to seek that understanding even when and especially if our identities have shielded us from those legacies of horror. The era of lynching in America began after Reconstruction, and between 1877 and 1950, over 4,000 African Americans were murdered in racial lynchings, often becoming public spectacles for white community residents. (Our podcast episode "A Strange and Bitter Crop" explores the horror of the Claude Neal lynching of 1934.)

Don't worry you can still make use of your skeletons. NPR's Mayowa Aina suggests sitting the skeleton up in a tree so it looks like someone died and decomposed or even using spiderwebs instead of rope. Decorations are fun because you can use your imagination, so get creative and avoid invoking historical trauma.

So this year and always, be mindful of your mischief. Entertainment this All Hallows' Eve doesn't have to come at a cost to anyone, and avoiding missteps doesn't take much extra effort.

Oh, there's still a perennial Halloween debate that we're not going to solve here. Even after years of controversy, the Code Switch team is split on this one: Is candy corn good or bad? We'd love to know what side you're on.

The rest is here:

The Code Switch Guide To Halloween : Code Switch - NPR