Welcome once again to Redstate’s only open thread where one is free to exercise their Constitutional rights to Free Speech on the following or any topic of interest.  As usual, Tuesday is dedicated to the culture wars, so let’s get right to it!

Jerk of the Week

This week’s award could have gone to yet another has-been- Peter Fonda- but that would be too obvious a choice.  Instead, I’ve chosen singer John Legend who apparently had a problem with Paul Ryan’s fatherhood on Father’s Day when he tweeted out:

“Seriously, f**k you. Reunite the families at the border and we can talk about father’s day.”

Seems somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed that day.

A Big “Ooops” With More to Come

The Southern Poverty Law Center- an organization that has nothing to do with the South, poverty, or the law- recently agreed to pay liberal Islamic reformer Majiid Nawaz and his Quilliam Foundation $3.375 million for incorrectly placing him and the Foundation on their celebrated list of hate groups.  Their “Field Guide to Anti-Muslim Extremists” was pulled from their website after Nawaz filed suit in April after being up since 2016.

As a kindly reminder, be wary of any article with these four foreboding words: “According to the SPLC…”

The American Academy of Pediatrics Weighs in On Children at the Border

Claiming that separating children from their parents can cause irreparable harm psychologically and academically, the American Academy of Pediatrics condemned the practice of separating children from their parents caught entering the country illegally.

This was the same group that in 2010 suggested doctors be allowed to perform the practice of female genital mutilation.  Of course, in typical Orwellian fashion, they changed the name to “female genital cutting” (“mutilation” is too truthful) or “ritual genital cutting.”  After complaints, they did walk back the suggestion, but if they are to succumb to every left wing mantra, believe what you want about their thoughts on separating kids from parents at the border.

Lefty Ideas Have Real World Consequences

Starbucks announced that they will close about 150 places nationwide, most of them in big cities.  Expecting a healthy 2.9% increase in sales, they were disappointed to learn the actual figure of 1%.  The CEO also noted that minimum wage increases and regulations in major liberal cities are holding back their growth.  Personally, I believe that their recent decision to allow the modern version of hobos to occupy their premises and use their bathrooms may have something to do with it also.  Are we to see more Starbucks in Middle America and the South now since they are more business-friendly locations?

Celebrating Gay Pride Month

Pity the gay community.  They had their thunder stolen by crying kids at the border.  But, retailers are offering many gay pride pieces of merchandise.  H&M, Levi Strauss, Primark and my favorite- Target’s rainbow-themed “Pride Narwhal- are all the rage this month.  But a funny thing happened along the way to the store.  It seems that most of the merchandise is made in China, Turkey and Myanmar. And guess what?  Homosexuality is illegal in all those countries.  In Myanmar, homosexuals are thrown in jail and we all know about Turkish prisons.

So How’s That Global Warming Thing Going?

It seems negotiators are meeting in Germany to work out an agreement to have a meeting in Poland to address global warming.  After three years of declining carbon emissions, the International Energy Agency reported that they saw a 1.4% increase in emissions in 2017.  However, the increases were not across the board as the United States, Britain, Mexico and Japan saw decreases.  So who are the culprits soiling the atmosphere?  It seems that the European Union collectively saw a 1.8% increase in carbon emissions.  So, tell me again about the need for the Paris Climate Change Accords?

Killing a Good Thing

As the Heritage Foundation has noted, faith-based adoption and child services programs are really good at adopting out children or finding foster homes for them.  However, because of their faith, Philadelphia recently decided to stop dealing with Catholic Social Services.  In Michigan, a lefty group sued the state for contracting with faith-based adoption and foster care organizations.  St. Vincent’s Catholic Charities in Lansing was singled out because in 2016 they told a lesbian couple they do not adopt children to same sex couples.  Personally, refusing to contract with faith based charities may be better than forcing them to violate their religious beliefs.  It is the children that will suffer, though, even though the Left tells us its always about the children.

Well, that’s it for this week.  Catch us next week for part 1,289 of the culture wars (which is still less than the number of Star Wars features).