[guest post by Dana]

Let’s go!

First news item

These rich old white guys want to become your next president:

“I’m in very good health. I just won two club championships, not even senior two regular club championships,” said Trump. “To do that, you have to be quite smart and you have to be able to hit the ball a long way. And I do it. He doesn’t do it. He can’t hit a ball 50 yards. He challenged me to a golf match. He can’t hit a ball 50 yards. I think I’m in very good shape.”

BIDEN: I’d be happy to have a driving contest with him. I got my handicap when I was vice president down to a six. By the way, I told you before, I’m happy to play golf. If you carry on bag, think you can do it?

TRUMP: That’s the biggest lie that he’s a six handicap of all

BIDEN: I was eight handicap….

TRUMP: I’ve seen you swing I know you swing…Let’s not act like children.

BIDEN: You are a child!

Second news item

Despite numerous calls for him to step down, including from liberal columnists at the New York Times (see: Thomas L. Friedman and Nicholas Kristof), President Biden told reporters at a Waffle House last night that “we did well at the debate”.

Third news item

While CNN fact-checked the debate and found that President Biden made nine false or misleading claims during the debate, Donald Trump took the gold prize by making 30 false or misleading claims:

Trump made more than 30 false claims at the Thursday debate. They included numerous claims that CNN and others have already debunked during the current presidential campaign or prior.

Trump’s repeat falsehoods included his assertions that some Democratic-led states allow babies to be executed after birth, that every legal scholar and everybody in general wanted Roe v. Wade overturned, that there were no terror attacks during his presidency, that Iran didn’t fund terror groups during his presidency, that the US has provided more aid to Ukraine than Europe has, that Biden for years referred to Black people as “super predators,” that Biden is planning to quadruple people’s taxes, that then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi turned down 10,000 National Guard troops for the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, that Americans don’t pay the cost of his tariffs on China and other countries, that Europe accepts no American cars, that he is the president who got the Veterans Choice program through Congress, and that fraud marred the results of the 2020 election.

Trump also added some new false claims, such as his assertions that the US currently has its biggest budget deficit and its biggest trade deficit with China. Both records actually occurred under Trump.

(Go to link above to check out all of the links provided by Daniel Dale to support his claims.)

Fourth news item

Of course they are:

House Republicans are ramping up their efforts to enforce a subpoena against Attorney General Merrick Garland, with multiple avenues in play after the Justice Department said it would not bring charges against Garland following a House vote to hold him in contempt of Congress.

“We’re going to be as aggressive as we can and use every tool in our arsenal,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said of the effort to enforce the subpoena at a news conference on Wednesday.

GOP lawmakers are seeking audio recordings of President Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur concerning the president’s handling of classified documents, which came as part of an investigation that wrapped earlier this year. The House Judiciary and Oversight committees demanded that the Justice Department provide the tapes as part of their impeachment inquiry into the president. But the president asserted executive privilege over the recordings in May.

Fifth news item

A vexing problem:

The Supreme Court ruled Friday that cities can ticket homeless people for camping in public even when there is no alternative shelter available, a decision that could drastically alter the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans without a permanent place to live.

The justices sided 6-3 with the Oregon city of Grants Pass, which had asked the high court to review a lower court’s decision blocking the enforcement of a public camping ordinance after determining that banning camping where shelter beds were limited amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.

From Sotomayor's Grants Pass dissent:

"Sleep is a biological necessity, not a crime. For some people, sleeping outside is their only option. The City of Grants Pass jails and fines those people for sleeping anywhere in public at any time, including in their cars, if they use…

— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) June 28, 2024

Sixth news item

Good:

Schools in New York City are planning to ban the use of mobile phones amid concerns over children’s mental health.

America’s largest schools system announced the move on Wednesday following a detailed consultation with medical professionals.

“Our kids are fully addicted to these phones, we’ve got to do something about it,” said David Banks, New York City schools chancellor, in an interview with broadcaster NY1.

Seventh news item

Chevron overruled:

A divided US Supreme Court threw out a decades-old legal doctrine that empowered federal regulators to interpret unclear laws, issuing a blockbuster ruling that will constrain environmental, consumer and financial-watchdog agencies.

The 6-3 decision, which came in a fight over a fishing-industry regulation, is a long-sought triumph for opponents of big government. The court overturned Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, a 1984 ruling that Democratic administrations had used as a legal building block for new regulations.

The latest ruling raises new questions about longstanding rules as well as the power of agencies going forward, particularly in emerging fields including cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence. It puts more onus on Congress to directly tackle policy issues and gives lower-court judges a mandate to rein in regulators when they exceed their authority.

The Supreme Court majority said the Chevron decision improperly transferred the power to interpret the law from the judiciary to federal agencies. Under Chevron, judges were required to defer to agencies that offered a reasonable interpretation of an unclear statute.

“Chevron was a judicial invention that required judges to disregard their statutory duties,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the court.

Eighth news item

Infuriating:

U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich will stand trial for espionage in Russia on Wednesday in a court whose proceedings are classified as a state secret.
No reporters, friends, family members or U.S. embassy staff will be allowed into the courtroom in the city of Yekaterinburg where Gershkovich, 32, faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Have a great weekend.

—Dana

[guest post by Dana]

If you’re planning to watch, you can catch it here:

The debate will begin at 9 p.m. Eastern and will take place at a CNN studio in Atlanta.

CNN has offered to let other networks carry the debate feed; ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, PBS and C-SPAN will all do so.

And if you get bored, you can always play a drinking game!

my 2024 debate drinking game, enjoy: pic.twitter.com/i0JqmO76Vi

— MJ (@morganisawizard) June 27, 2024

—Dana

[guest post by Dana]

On the heels of Louisiana mandating that the Ten Commandments be posted in every public classroom and after Oklahoma’s Supreme Court said *no to a publicly funded religious charter school, Oklahoma’s school superintendent announced today that the Bible will now be in every public classroom and used as a teaching resource:

At a State Board of Education meeting, Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters said the Bible is “one of the most foundational documents used for the Constitution and the birth of our country.”

“It’s crystal clear to us that in the Oklahoma academic standards under Title 70 on multiple occasions, the Bible is a necessary historical document to teach our kids about the history of this country, to have a complete understanding of Western civilization, to have an understanding of the basis of our legal system,” Walters said.

Every classroom in the state must have a Bible and all teachers must teach from the Bible in the classroom, Walters said. . .

Oklahoma’s directive “is in alignment with the educational standards approved on or about May 2019, with which all districts must comply,” according to a news release.

“The Bible is an indispensable historical and cultural touchstone,” Walters said in the release. “Without basic knowledge of it, Oklahoma students are unable to properly contextualize the foundation of our nation.
This is not merely an educational directive but a crucial step in ensuring our students grasp the core values and historical context of our country.”

*Walters’ reaction the Oklahoma Supreme Court decision re publicly funded religious charter schools:

Walters called the ruling “one of the worst” decisions the state Supreme Court has made and pledged to “fight back.”

“What the court did was rule against the parents of Oklahoma who have demanded more choices for their kids. We have a great opportunity to make sure that parents have the most options of any parents in the country here in Oklahoma, by giving them the ability to go to a public school, charter schools, private schools, this would have been the most unique charter school in the country,” Walters said.

Along with the civil liberty violations, this opens the door for any crackpot teacher to espouse their own belief system, no matter how much of an outlier it might be. Proselytizing to minors in a public school classroom will be very problematic, and it will happen. Moreover, what happens to kids who tell said teachers that they reject Christ and Christianity? This too will surely happen (especially in upper grades). Will there be some sort of subtle or even blatant retaliation for their rebellion?? In a very Red and very Christian state like Oklahoma, this whole idea will open a can of worms when enacted.

—Dana

[guest post by Dana]

In an unsurprising move, former congressman Adam Kinzinger announced today that he will be voting for President Joe Biden in the November election:

As a proud conservative, I’ve always put America’s Democracy and our Constitution above all else.

And today, as a proud conservative, I am endorsing @JoeBiden for reelection! pic.twitter.com/57GYrWsX5w

— Adam Kinzinger (Slava Ukraini) 🇺🇸🇺🇦🇮🇱 (@AdamKinzinger) June 26, 2024

“To every American of every political party and those of none, I say now is not the time to watch quietly as Donald Trump threatens the future of America…Now is the time to unite behind Joe Biden and show Donald Trump off the stage once and for all.”

Trump will not voluntarily leave the public stage until the voters compel him to do so. Oh. Wait. But still, it’s better that the angry toddler caterwauls from the sidelines rather than with his hands on the levers of power.

Certainly President Biden will refer to this endorsement tomorrow night. It’s a perfect opportunity to remind voters that country is more important than political party. Especially now.

—Dana

[guest post by Dana]

Ask five people how important the presidential debates are and it’s likely you’ll get five different answers, ranging from not important to very important. Regardless of the value you place on presidential debates, President Joe Biden and Donald Trump are scheduled to debate tomorrow night. . .unless one of them develops a bad headache and can’t make it.

With that, over at Axios, they have a come up with a decent list of questions to be asked of the two rich, old white guys who want to become our next President.

For President Biden:

1. If you’re re-elected, you’ll be an 86-year-old man in one of the world’s most stressful jobs before your second term is up. What changes would you make to account for that, and assure Americans that you’re capable of serving that long?

2. The stats tell us the economy is doing well, but many voters aren’t feeling it because of inflation — and they’re blaming you. What do you say to them, and are you frustrated that much of your messaging on the economy’s progress hasn’t resonated with many Americans?

3. Knowing now what you didn’t know when Hamas attacked Israel last October, would you have done anything differently with regard to Israel? How do you assess the political damage to your candidacy from progressive Democrats whose voted [sic] you need, but who are angry about Israel’s actions against Palestinians?

4. Why did it take so long for your administration to respond to the influx of migrants at the southwestern border? . . . polls suggest it’s among your biggest vulnerabilities.

For Donald Trump:

1. You’ve questioned the president’s mental acuity, but in several speeches you’ve told rambling stories that haven’t made a lot of sense, slurred your words, and gotten people’s names wrong. Do you understand why some voters are wondering about your mental acuity?

2. You’re signaling that you want to dramatically increase presidential powers. Your 2025 plans include mass deportations, ordering the Justice Department to prosecute political foes, and replacing civil servants with loyalists. Wouldn’t centralizing power like that amount to replacing what you call D.C.’s “swamp” with a swampier swamp?

3. You’ve called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “genius” and “savvy” for invading Ukraine, and said that as president you could quickly end the war there. Would that plan involve Ukraine giving up land Russia took in the war — essentially rewarding Putin?

4. You’ve praised the Jan. 6 protesters who were convicted, calling them “patriots” and “hostages.” You haven’t said much about the 140 police officers who were wounded that day, the officer who was killed or the four others who died by suicide in the months after the assault on the Capitol. Do you regret anything about Jan. 6 — besides Congress certifying your loss in the election?

I would also like to see Trump asked if he believes that the 2020 election was stolen. Let’s get him on the record at a debate where preposterous answers would likely be challenged by the moderators, rather than at a rally where anything he says goes unchallenged.

Additionally, he claims he will deport millions of illegal immigrants. Does he still plan to do that, and if so, exactly how would he accomplish such a massive undertaking? What would that look like in real time?

What would you want to see asked of the candidates?

—Dana

[guest post by Dana]

New York Democratic primary results:

George Latimer has unseated Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) in the Democratic primary in New York’s 16th Congressional District, Decision Desk HQ projects, delivering a stinging blow to progressives in what has been the party’s most divisive primary of the cycle.

Latimer, a Westchester County executive, defeated Bowman in a fierce contest that became a proxy battle between differing ideological factions of the Democratic Party, with the pivotal issue separating the candidates being their stances toward Israel amid the country’s ongoing war with Palestinian militant group Hamas.

If you recall, Bowman referred to claims of Hamas’ use of rape and other sexual violence against Israeli women on Oct. 7th “propaganda” and “lies.”

And just yesterday, in a big move, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez came out to rally the troops on behalf of Bowman. Apparently, despite her popularity, she couldn’t get him across the finish line.

United States Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14) pic.twitter.com/ZYo41we92u

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) June 24, 2024

—Dana

[guest post by Dana]

Let’s go!

First news item

While most 18-25 year old men who live in the U.S. must register for Selective Service, Democrats have now suggested that women follow suit. And that’s not going over well with Republicans:

Senate Democrats have added language to the annual defense authorization bill to require women to register for the draft, prompting a backlash from Republicans and social conservatives and complicating the chances of moving the bill on the Senate floor before Election Day.

Conservatives led by Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) are certain to attempt to remove the provision requiring women to register for the draft, which could present a tough vote for Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and other Democrats in tight reelection races.

. . .

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) called the provision requiring women to sign up for the draft “insane.”

He accused the Biden administration of trying to implement a woke agenda at the Pentagon.

“There shouldn’t be women in the draft. They shouldn’t be forced to serve if they don’t want to,” he said on Fox News. He criticized Democrats for wanting to experiment with the military, saying “normal people are like, ‘Leave our daughters alone.’”

If young men have to register, why shouldn’t young women also have to register? Clearly there are any number of non-combat roles for women, if it came to that. Additionally, the Hawleys and Wickers of the GOP likely object to the mandatory registration of women because they tie it into the “gentler sex” notion: Men are strong and defenders of hearth, home and country. Women are caretakers of children, home and community. Each has their assigned place, and if women were required to register, that would upset these historic roles. I think that a number of Republican lawmakers still hold to this thinking, and they want to keep their like-minded voting bloc happy. If it’s not because of these reasons, then why are they so stridently against it?

Second news item

Democrats worried:

Many senior Democrats — including some of President Biden’s aides — doubt his theory for victory, which relies on voter fears about Jan. 6, political violence, democracy and Donald Trump’s character, Alex Thompson writes.

A Democratic strategist in touch with the campaign tells Axios: “It is unclear to many of us watching from the outside whether the president and his core team realize how dire the situation is right now, and whether they even have a plan to fix it. That is scary.”

Why it matters: People close to Biden tell Axios they worry about raising concerns in meetings, because his longtime loyalists can exile dissenters.

Third news item

Judge Cannon: loose cannon?:

Judge Aileen Cannon was reportedly urged by senior federal judges to hand off Trump’s classified documents case when it was handed to her last year. . . The new details add to what’s already a lengthy series of suspicious choices by Cannon that have benefited Trump.

According to The New York Times, two senior federal judges reached out to Cannon. The first unnamed judge contacted Cannon and argued she should hand the case off by citing the lack of a secure storage facility at the Fort Pierce courthouse where Cannon sits, a necessity for storing the classified documents seized from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence. Cannon refused, requiring the city (and taxpayers) to shell out to build a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility at the courthouse.

After Cannon’s refusal, Chief Justice Cecilia Altonaga got on the horn and told Cannon taking the case would be “bad optics,” according to The New York Times, due to Cannon’s intervention after Trump sued the government for seizing the classified documents, which Trump argued were his personal property. Cannon took over and decided the case in Trump’s favor. Prosecutors appealed her decision, and an appeals panel—including two Trump-appointed judges—overturned her order, ruling that she had no authority to intervene. Cannon rejected Altonaga’s assessment.

Fourth news item

Apology not accepted:

Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) apologized while on a local radio show this week for past comments calling Hamas’ use of rape and other sexual violence against Israeli women on Oct. 7th “propaganda” and “lies.”

Politico reported on Bowman’s apology in its playbook on Thursday and noted it was also the first outlet to document Bowman’s November comments calling the rape of Israeli women “lies.”

“There was propaganda used in the beginning of the siege,” Bowman told a rally in New York City, adding, “There’s still no evidence of beheaded babies or raped women. But they still keep using that lie [for] propaganda.”

If Bowman had truly wanted to be objective instead of playing politics, he could’ve kept his big yap shut while waiting for confirmation from somewhere (other than from the victims themselves!). Instead, he jumped on the idiotic Ooh, look at me, I’m so with it I’m on the pro-Palestinean bandwagon. Instead the self-serving gasbag chose to further victimize the victims.

P.S. Hillary Clinton has endorsed Bowman’s opponent in the House primary in New York. Bowman got a bit snippy in response:

“I definitely wouldn‘t call that a major endorsement, with all due respect,” Bowman told host Laura Coates of Clinton’s announcement.

Fifth news item

It’s always someone else’s fault:

Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. failed to qualify for the first presidential debate.

Kennedy did not meet CNN’s June 27 debate requirements, the network announced Thursday, which included a polling minimum and access to enough state’s presidential ballots to theoretically be elected president. . .

“My exclusion by Presidents Biden and Trump from the debate is undemocratic, un-American, and cowardly. Americans want an independent leader who will break apart the two-party duopoly,” Kennedy said in a statement. He also falsely claimed that debate is illegal.

For a man who likes to present himself as a man’s man, he sure acts just like a little boy peeved that he didn’t get his way. Grow up!

Sixth news item

Punching back:

Ukraine has launched a “mass” drone assault on Russian infrastructure and military targets in the Black Sea, Crimea and southern Russia, officials and Kyiv’s military said.

Ukraine’s military said its drones struck four oil refineries, radar stations and other military objects in Russia on Friday morning, as Russian officials reported a “mass” drone attack in Krasnodar and claimed to have shot down 70 drones over the Black Sea and Crimea.

P.S.

"China is now the main supporter of the Russian war effort, war aggression against Ukraine… And at the same time, they are trying to have a normal relationship with European allies. This cannot work in the long run" – Jens Stoltenberg.

📹: BBC pic.twitter.com/TBc5962KVf

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) June 18, 2024

Seventh news item

Good:

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday upheld a federal law that makes it a crime for people under domestic violence restraining orders to have guns, handing a victory to President Joe Biden’s administration as the justices opted not to further widen firearms rights after a major expansion in 2022.

The 8-1 ruling, authored by conservative Chief Justice John Roberts, overturned a lower court’s decision striking down the 1994 law as a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment right to “keep and bear arms.”

Justice Thomas was the lone dissenter.

Eighth news item

The very best news!

Y'all have been through all the highs and lows of my triple negative cancer diagnosis, so I wanted you to be the first to know. My dr called after evaluating the tumors they removed surgically.

No cancer — even microscopically!! https://t.co/EqI2SSEkbW

— Nancy French (@NancyAFrench) June 17, 2024

Have a great weekend!

—Dana

[guest post by Dana]

Louisiana goes there:

A bill signed into law this week makes Louisiana the only state to require that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every classroom in public schools and colleges — and stirs the long-running debate over the role of religion in government institutions.

Under the new law, all public K-12 classrooms and state-funded universities will be required to display a poster-sized display of the Ten Commandments in “large, easily readable font” next year.

As expected, civil liberty groups are pushing back on the new law, saying:

. . . it would unconstitutionally breach protections against government-imposed religion.

Moreover:

The organizations believe the law violates U.S. Supreme Court precedent set in the 1980 Stone v. Graham decision. In a 5-4 ruling, the Burger court ruled against a similar law passed in Kentucky requiring classrooms to post copies of the Ten Commandments, finding that it violated the First Amendment.

“The law violates the separation of church and state and is blatantly unconstitutional,” the groups wrote in a joint statement. “The First Amendment promises that we all get to decide for ourselves what religious beliefs, if any, to hold and practice, without pressure from the government. Politicians have no business imposing their preferred religious doctrine on students and families in public schools.”

Proponents of the bill say that the history of the Ten Commandments are “foundational documents of our state and national government.”

The bill also allows schools to display other historical documents, such as the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence and the Northwest Ordinance.

“Although this is a religious document, this document is also posted in over one hundred and eighty places, including the Supreme Court of the United States of America. I would say is based on the laws that this country was founded on,” Republican state Sen. Adam Bass told KALB last month.

While other places/buildings in the U.S. post the Ten Commandments, the fact remains that students have to attend school, and are thus going to be a captive audience, so to speak. Do we trust that teachers won’t have kids reciting the commandments? That would be a further violation of civil liberties in a public school setting.

It’s also going to be problematic for the parents who are raising their children in a non-Christian faith. Won’t they see this as a gross violation of their liberties? I think they will.

This:

“Altering constitutional law is not the only motivation here; a version of Christian mysticism is also in play. There is a real belief that the Ten Commandments have spiritual power over the hearts and minds of students.

“I grew up in Kentucky and went to classes before the Ten Commandments were ordered removed, and I can testify that the displays had no impact on our lives. My classmates and I were not better people because of the faded posters on the walls.”

(I believe posting the Ten Commandments in public school rooms violates the Constitution. But if it didn’t, and lawmakers were determined to go the religious route in public schools to please their constituents, why choose the Ten Commandments? Why not choose instead the beautiful Beatitudes?)

—Dana

[guest post by Dana]

This is really good news. However, given that the horse is already out of the barn, enforcement may prove difficult:

The Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education on Tuesday voted to ban cellphone use during the school day.

The new rule will take effect in January 2025, though the Los Angeles Times notes the details still need to be “approved in a future meeting by the Board of Education.”

The prohibition for using cellphones includes during breaks and lunchtime.

Still to be worked out is how the policy will be enforced. Additionally, there will be exceptions: “use the devices for homework or translating English as non-native speakers”.

Several years ago, Patterico and I had the privilege of attending a lecture by psychologist Jonathan Haidt. He is a brilliant observer of youth today, their addiction to cell phones, and the incredible distraction from real life they provide, for better or worse. And it’s mostly worse. About young people and their phones, he made this observation:

Haidt blames the spike in teen-age depression and anxiety on the rise of smartphones and social media, and he offers a set of prescriptions: no smartphones before high school, no social media before age sixteen.

And about the problems resulting from students using their phones during the school day, Haidt wrote this last year:

I was invited to give a talk at Scarsdale Middle School. There, too, I met with the principal and her top administrators, and I heard the same thing: Mental- health problems had recently gotten much worse. Even when students arrived for sixth grade, coming out of elementary school, many of them were already anxious and depressed. And many, already, were addicted to their phones.

To the teachers and administrators I spoke with, this wasn’t merely a coincidence. They saw clear links between rising phone addiction and declining mental health, to say nothing of declining academic performance. A common theme in my conversations with them was: We all hate the phones. Keeping students off of them during class was a constant struggle. Getting students’ attention was harder because they seemed permanently distracted and congenitally distractible. Drama, conflict, bullying, and scandal played out continually during the school day on platforms to which the staff had no access. I asked why they couldn’t just ban phones during school hours. They said too many parents would be upset if they could not reach their children during the school day.

Haidt points out that these days school districts are much more open to the possibility of banning phones in schools. Of course, given the downward turn with the mental health of young people and their addiction to cell phones, this makes sense.

Ultimately, he hits the nail on the head:

All children deserve schools that will help them learn, cultivate deep friendships, and develop into mentally healthy young adults. All children deserve phone-free schools.

Good for LAUSD. I hope other school districts follow suit.

—Dana

[guest post by Dana]

I have a lot to say about this and the evangelical church at large, but for now I’ll just address the audacity of this lying jackal:

Robert Morris, founding pastor of Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, which attracts an estimated 100,000 worshipers weekly, has confessed to “inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady” more than 35 years ago while he was a young pastor after a woman accused him of sexually abusing her over multiple years beginning when she was 12.

“When I was in my early twenties, I was involved in inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady in a home where I was staying. It was kissing and petting and not intercourse, but it was wrong. This behavior happened on several occasions over the next few years,” Morris said in a statement to The Christian Post after Gateway Church was asked about the allegations.

From Morris’s accuser:

Morris’ accuser, Cindy Clemishire, first told The Wartburg Watch that he began sexually abusing her on Dec. 25, 1982, and continued with the abuse for four-and-a-half years after that. When contacted by CP (Christian Post). . . the 54-year-old grandmother confirmed the details in the report but insisted she was no “young lady” when Morris began abusing her.

“I’m, of course, just appalled,” Clemishire told CP. . .about his description of her as a “young lady.”

“I was 12 years old. I was a little girl. A very innocent little girl. And he was brought into our home. He and his wife, Debbie, and their little boy, Josh, and trusted and preached at the church that my dad helped start and then began grooming all of us to do this, which took me decades to wrap my brain around as an adult,” she said.

“It went on for many years. He says there was no sexual intercourse, but he did touch every part of my body and inserted his fingers into me, which I understand now is considered a form of rape by instrumentation. I was an innocent 12-year-old little girl who knew nothing about sexual behavior.

Can we be straight about this? A girl 12 years old is a child. Period. Referring to her as a “young lady” though gives the appearance that it was another adult involved in inappropriate but not illegal sexual acts. It hides the fact that a child was sexually preyed upon by an adult and that the “inappropriate sexual behavior” was actually the sexual molestation of a child, which is a criminal act.

It’s reprehensible and yet all too common that a pastor who commits sexual sin, and in this case involving a child, believes he has a right to return to the pulpit, or foolishly believes that God needs him to lead. Just because Morris took time off from the pulpit for restoration does not mean that he belongs back in a place of leadership in the church. Quite clearly, God doesn’t *need* for anything or anyone. If there is true repentance (not for show), that’s good. It’s scriptural. But God doesn’t need Morris back in the pulpit to get His message out. The very presence of Morris back in the pulpit, and others like him, makes a mockery of God and becomes a stumbling block for the church body (if they have even been made aware of the situation).

And don’t get me started on the “elders” who participated in this alleged “come to Jesus” restoration period while simultaneously turning a blind eye to the *crime* that took place. It’s a vile poison that flows through the modern church when the playbook demands a circling of the wagons to support, at all costs, the one in the pulpit who draws in the masses that fill the seats and in turn, fill the coffers as well.

As Clemishire put it:

“I don’t think he ever should have been allowed to be in the ministry. We would never allow someone to go teach in a school … work in a daycare or be a doctor if anybody had done these things. And I have a very difficult time believing I’m the only one,” Clemishire said.

On top of everything horrible about this, Clemishire was later blamed for the abuse by Morris’s wife, who said she “forgave” Clemishire for what happened. And in 2005, when Clemishire secured an attorney to file a civil suit against Morris, his attorney’s response implied that they believed it was her fault because she was “flirtatious.”

Wolves in sheep’s clothing, one must be vigilant.

Note: “Pastor” Morris has resigned:

Just days after allegations surfaced that he molested a 12-year-old girl in the 1980s, Pastor Robert Morris has resigned from his Dallas megachurch, Gateway Church.

In a statement released to media today, Gateway claimed it did not know the age of Morris’ victim and the length of her abuse.

But in a statement just released to The Roys Report (TRR), the victim, Cindy Clemishire, said she confronted Morris about the abuse in an email sent in 2005. Clemishire added that former Gateway Elder Tom Lane responded to Clemishire’s email, “acknowledging that the sexual abuse began on December 25, 1982, when I was 12 years old.”

In its statement, Gateway’s board of elders said: “The elders’ prior understanding was that Morris’s extramarital relationship, which he had discussed many times throughout his ministry, was with ‘a young lady’ and not abuse of a 12-year-old child.”

The elders added that they did not know the victim’s age or the length of the alleged abuse.

Circle the wagons and protect the institution, no matter what. Don’t pay attention to the victim, don’t give the victim support by believing her claims (which others knew about). Ignore her, shame her, just make her go away while protecting the cash cow in the pulpit.

You can read Clemishire’s full response here.