The Front Page Cover
~ Featuring ~
Why won't my opponents debate me?
by Minister Michael Brown
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{koreatimes.co.kr} ~ China has sent a final warning to North Korea over its military provocations, according to unconfirmed rumors spreading widely on Chinese social media Tuesday... Chinese news outlets have previously said Beijing could turn its back on Pyongyang if the latter conducted a sixth nuclear test. But the rumor that China has given North Korea a final warning has drawn particular interest from Weibo users. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the meeting and asked his junior to read aloud the warning to the North over the nuclear test. The memorandum mentioned that China will condemn strongly, pull back on all economic cooperation and even blockade North Korea if it conducted the test... http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2017/05/103_228717.html
Top Headlines
Find out which Republicans voted against the House's liar-nObamaCare replacement bill. (The Daily Signal)
NYT correspondent falsely reports House members voted to exempt themselves from GOP health care bill. (The Washington Free Beacon)
"Mandatory" federal health care spending now tops $1,000,000,000,000. (CNS News)
U.S. lawmakers introduce bipartisan resolution to end campus free speech zones. (The Federalist)
Poll: Plurality of Democrats say campuses should not allow speakers whose words are thought "hateful" or "offensive" by some. (Hot Air)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist who defended NRA quits after suspension. (Fox News)
liar-Hillary launching "Onward Together" PAC next week to rebuild her political influence. (Hot Air)
Punishing sanctuary cities: Controversial Texas bill heads to governor's desk. (Fox News)
Bill Nye's history is edited to satisfy transgender advocates. (Hot Air)
Justice Department begins criminal probe into Uber's use of software to help drivers evade local regulators. (CNBC)
Policy: Trump's executive order fails to address most pressing religious liberty threats. (Daily Signal)
Policy: Puerto Rico shows governments do go bankrupt. (Investor's Business Daily) ~The Patriot Post
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China issued 'last warning' to N. Korea
over nukes: Chinese social media
by Eom Da-sol
{koreatimes.co.kr} ~ China has sent a final warning to North Korea over its military provocations, according to unconfirmed rumors spreading widely on Chinese social media Tuesday... Chinese news outlets have previously said Beijing could turn its back on Pyongyang if the latter conducted a sixth nuclear test. But the rumor that China has given North Korea a final warning has drawn particular interest from Weibo users. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the meeting and asked his junior to read aloud the warning to the North over the nuclear test. The memorandum mentioned that China will condemn strongly, pull back on all economic cooperation and even blockade North Korea if it conducted the test... http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2017/05/103_228717.html
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It’s time for me to talk about 2018…
by Lt. Col. (Retired) Allen West
{aim.org} ~ There are many variations of this Latin proverb, but this specific one appears on the gates of Honor Hill at Ft. Benning Georgia, where US Army Infantrymen receive the venerable “cross rifles” insignia... The U.S. infantry has two simple words as its motto: “Follow Me.” Those words have true meaning and having been forged in the crucible of combat where they are indicative of determined, resolute leadership in adverse situations. Perhaps the entire House and Senate GOP should attend Boot Camp at Ft. Benning, Georgia and be infused with such rigor and resilience. It was the Republican Party who stated, “Follow Me” by giving us the House, the US Senate, and the White House…and we will achieve our objectives. It appears once again, these were empty, hollow words as reflected in another eschewing of fundamental constitutional conservative principles and values...http://www.aim.org/guest-column/its-time-for-me-to-talk-about-2018/?utm_source=AIM+-+Daily+Email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Email%20May-05-2017&utm_medium=email
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US warplanes among those barred from flying
over Syria's 'safe zones' in proposal
by foxnews.com
{foxnews.com} ~ U.S. and coalition military planes will not be allowed to fly over designated "safe zones" in Syria under a Russian proposal that has the backing of Iran and Turkey, reports said Friday... The reports did not indicate how the airspace would be enforced and the overall proposal appeared to be a work in progress. Russian official Alexander Lavrentyev suggested in peace talks on Friday that all military aircraft -- including Russian and Turkish -- would also be barred from the designated zones. Under the Russian plan, President Bashar Assad's air force would halt flights over the safe zones... http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/05/05/report-russia-says-syria-safe-zoneshttp://video.foxnews.com/v/5423064739001-will-be-shut-for-us-warplanes.html
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Don’t Waste Arab-Israeli Cooperation on the
Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process
by John Hannah
{defenddemocracy.org} ~ With Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas set to visit the White House on Wednesday, speculation is rife that later this year President Donald Trump will seek to enlist a group of Sunni Arab states in efforts to jumpstart moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace talks... Think not only Egypt and Jordan, countries that already have treaties with Israel, but also countries still technically at war with the Jewish state, like Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. But as someone who’s watched the never-ending saga otherwise known as the Middle East peace process up close for a quarter century, I’d urge great caution. While I agree wholeheartedly that a historic opportunity may now exist to advance relations between Israel and several of its Arab neighbors, it would be unfortunate to squander it in service of efforts to solve a maddeningly intractable conflict that has defied resolution for nearly 70 years — and whose current prospects for progress are probably as bleak as they’ve been in a generation... http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/john-hannah-dont-waste-arab-israeli-cooperation-on-the-israeli-palestinian-peace-proces/.
George Soros battles $10B lawsuit, familiar
charges of wielding political influence
by Brooke Singman
{foxnews.com} ~ A $10 billion suit against George Soros accuses the self-styled humanitarian of meddling in the politics of a poor African country in order to settle his own scores... a charge the billionaire’s critics say reflects his longtime modus operandi. The 86-year-old investor, who controls a web of international nonprofits in addition to his vast financial empire, used his sway with the government of Guinea to freeze Israeli company BSG Resources out of the West African nation’s lucrative iron ore mining contracts, according to the suit filed last month in New York Federal Court by BSG Resources. "Soros was motivated solely by malice, as there was no economic interest he had in Guinea," BSGR alleges in court papers... http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/05/05/george-soros-battles-10b-lawsuit-familiar-charges-wielding-political-influence.html?cmpid=NL_fntop
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by Minister Michael Brown
Why won't my opponents debate me?
by Minister Michael Brown
{wnd.com} ~ I find it ironic that those who claim to be enlightened and open-minded, at the same time attacking conservatives like me as bigoted and close-minded, refuse to engage me in debate or dialogue.
There was a gay Jewish leader I interacted with on Twitter. He made some bogus claims about God having multiple genders in the Hebrew Scriptures, and when I asked him for one single reference, he could provide none. But all the while, he kept mocking my position.
When he attacked my viewpoint a week or two later, I invited him to join me on the air to debate the issues, since he claimed I was misrepresenting ancient Jewish sources. I told him that as a practicing homosexual, he was violating the Torah.
He said he would not come on the air to increase my platform.
I replied to him that, by God’s grace, I had an excellent platform already and was inviting him to join me on that platform.
He refused.
I said to him, “Then how about we talk privately, off the air, by phone?”
Silence.
But I wasn’t surprised. This is the kind of thing I’ve become used to.
A few years ago, after I was on Piers Morgan’s show and got into a lively interchange with Marc Lamont Hill, we interacted briefly on Twitter.
Would he like to have a formal debate with me on the issues we discussed?
He expressed openness to do so, and I said let’s do it.
Silence.
Not a word of interaction from him since then.
Then there was Montel Williams.
He responded to my “Open Letter to Megyn Kelly,” which referenced a segment they did together, and then I wrote a response to his response. After this, his assistant and my assistant interacted. We were told he would be happy to join me on the air and have a friendly debate about our differences, but only after he took care of some family commitments, which would run into the next month.
That was almost one year ago now, and we’ve not heard back from his team since then.
Just silence.
This is a recurring sound.
Then there was the liberal university professor writing for Huffington Post who stated expressly that she wanted to talk with white, evangelical Christians who voted for Trump.
I wrote a long response to her article, saying to her throughout, “Let’s talk.”
I tweeted to her before and after writing; I linked my response to her; and my office reached out to hers privately.
Silence.
And remember: The purpose of this professor’s article was to find someone like me willing to talk with her. Yet when I reached out to her, she never replied. Not even a, “No thank you.”
Why?
Then there was gay journalist and radio host Michelangelo Signorile.
Also writing for what is now called HuffPost, he referred to conservative Christians who opposed redefining marriage as “religious extremists,” to which I wrote a reply titled, “To Gay Journalist Michelangelo Signorile: Let’s Have A Civil Debate.”
Here’s how I closed my article:
These are critically important issues facing our society, and we both agree that they are not going away any time soon. Why don’t we have a civil, public debate and discuss these issues in a moderated forum, hopefully doing so in a way that will further serious discussion and reflection in the midst of our differences, committing to conduct the debate without vitriol or histrionics?You just wrote a new book titled “It’s Not Over: Getting Beyond Tolerance, Defeating Homophobia, and Winning True Equality.”I just wrote a new book from the exact opposite perspective, titled “Outlasting the Gay Revolution: Where Homosexual Activism Is Really Going and How to Turn the Tide.” To be clear, when I say the exact opposite perspective, I do not mean cultivating hatred or mistreatment of gays; to the contrary, I call on my side to take the highest moral ground and merge love together with truth.You have a national radio show, and I have a national radio show. In fact, it appears that from 3-4 p.m., EDT, we’re on the air at the same time, Monday-Friday.You write columns for liberal websites, and I write columns for conservative websites.What is there to lose by challenging each other’s views publicly while we defend our own? What is there to lose by seeing whose positions best cohere morally and socially?
I then tweeted him a link to my article, asking him, “What do you say?”
He replied, “Nothing to discuss. We’ve gained our rights. NOW you want civil discussion, after you crusaded vs. us for years?”
I responded, “My position has remained the same for years. I’ve always called for discussion. In any case, we’re not going in the closet.”
He replied by sending me an article written by two of his gay colleagues, referring to people like me as bigots.
I asked him why he and his colleagues had to use the word “bigot” when referring to opponents of same-sex “marriage,” since there were perfectly legitimate, fair-minded reasons for rejecting it. He responded by justifying his use of the term, after which, there was that sound again – the sound of silence.
Here and there, I’ve found leaders on the “progressive” side who are willing to engage in civil debate or dialogue. And remember, I’m not just talking about coming on my radio show, where I do control the mic, but of participating in formal, moderated debates. But they are few and far between.
All too many seem much more willing to make charges than to back them up, to level accusations than to discuss honest differences, to throw around claims of bigotry rather than have their own bigotry exposed.
Their silence, when challenged, or when invited to public dialogue, is deafening and speaks volumes.
I dedicate this article to WND on its 20th anniversary. You have been anything but silent.
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