I’m bringing back my news wrap up that I used to do. It is mostly politics, but I try to tie in anything related to Christianity or things I’ve written about.

School name to change from Jeff Davis to Obama:

“Jefferson Davis, although infamous in his own right, would probably not be too happy about a diverse school promoting the education of the very individuals he fought to keep enslaved being named after him,” Davis Magnet IB PTA President Janelle Jefferson said.

Related, a county in Kentucky is moving their Confederate monuments.
As I’ve written before, I’m not a fan of Confederate monuments or flags and think they should be removed. However, it is stupid and painfully ironic that someone would ban a book due to the offense of the language, as Mississippi did with To Kill A Mockingbird.  Banning books is never acceptable, and banning them for this reason is literally the plot to Fahrenheit 451.

Speaking of monuments, this cross, owned and maintained by a government agency, was ruled unconstitutional, a ruling that will stand should the Supreme Court not take up the case. As a Christian this bothers me on some level, but on in some ways it makes sense. I don’t think it would have popular support if it were a monument to another religion. However, the point isn’t to memorialize Christianity, but WWI veterans, so I feel this might be a bit much. It is quite old and clearly was constructed to make offense, the way that many of the Confederate monuments were used.

Wrapping up the monument/flag/anthem trend – Oklahoma is requiring people to stand during the Anthem, because nothing says freedom like denying someone the right to protest and forcing patriotism.

Apparently hookworm is still an issue. A parasite that devastate the South in the past, is inexplicably still around

“Our billionaire philanthropists like Bill Gates fund water treatment around the world, but they don’t fund it here in the US because no one acknowledges that this level of poverty exists in the richest nation in the world.”

Unsurprisingly, most pastors don’t support the Johnson Amendment. Now, to be clear, the Government is not saying they can’t preach politics from the pulpit, the IRS is just saying you can’t do it and still receive special treatment (tax-exempt status). Also, the amendment doesn’t apply only to churches, but all non-profits. I support it as one way to help keep (some) money out of politics, even if it was proposed only so Johnson could shut down part of his opponents funding. Only one church has ever lost their status due to a violation.

W. says in a speech nationalism is a growing problem.  He is obviously on to something with an Alabama senator is main funding comes from a white nationalist and the man himself is described like this:

Moore is “much closer to our ideal Alt-South candidate: Southern, Christian, populist and nationalist, slashing and willing to defy the federal government,” Shannan, the 9/11 truther who sat on the board of the Foundation to Defend the First Amendment when it donated to Moore’s nonprofit, wrote in an endorsement of Moore published last month. “The White vote in the South, which was splintered during the late 20th century, has reconsolidated like it was in the Jim Crow South.”

Surprisingly, the university of florida did the right thing when another white nationalist came to town. Which led to this whiny quote, “You think that you shut me down? Well, you didn’t.” He said this as he ‘abruptly’ ended his speech and stormed off stage.

What exactly is the point of prison?  This guy thinks it is for free labor, and opposes releasing low level offenders.