By Thomas Hampson
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05.09.24
Last week the United Methodist Church (UMC) caved to the LGBTQ agenda. For several years, the UMC has pushed back against progressive efforts to embrace same-sex marriage, the ordination of LBGTQ pastors, and the full inclusion of those who identify as LGBTQ into all church ministries and activities.
By Thomas Hampson
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05.02.24
Stories of children reported to be victims of sexual exploitation are so familiar these days that they have become little more than background noise in the daily news feed. Even our legislators don’t give this exploitation a second thought. At least, that’s the impression I get from a review of HB 5239.
By Thomas Hampson
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04.18.24
One of the commonly heard complaints of college students in the last several years is that the institutions of higher education they attend have failed to provide “safe spaces” for them. Students have complained that they feel unsafe because the professors or fellow students or administrators fail to acknowledge their chosen pronouns or that students of color feel unsafe in classes or dorms with white students.
By Thomas Hampson
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04.09.24
What are we doing to our children? Today, children are told—starting at 3 or 4 years old—that we don’t really know if they are a boy or a girl. The doctor just guessed based on their appearance when they were born. Over the next few years, they are told, it is up to the child to discover if they are a boy, a girl, non-binary, fluid, or something else altogether.
By Thomas Hampson
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03.26.24
What we think is true can have the same effect on us as what is true. We have known this forever. But today, in our post-truth culture, we are becoming less concerned with discovering what is true and more focused on what we feel is true. Public opinion today is shaped more by emotion and personal beliefs than facts. The impact of this post-truth era is profound.
By Thomas Hampson
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03.19.24
A bill currently under consideration in the Illinois General Assembly would allow children 12 and up to apply for Medicaid to pay for “family planning” services. Specifically, HB 5473 states: “Notwithstanding any other provision of this paragraph (2), a minor who is 12 years of age or older may sign and file an application of the minor’s own behalf if such application is for the Article V family planning program enacted by Public Act 102-665 amending Section 5-5 of this Code.”
By Thomas Hampson
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03.11.24
The legislative effort to address bullying in Illinois started in 2006 when the Illinois School Code was amended. The act required schools to establish an anti-bullying policy, inform students and parents about it, and keep their updated policies on file with the Illinois State Board of Education.
By Thomas Hampson
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02.28.24
Whenever a legislator proposes a new law, supposedly, that new law is intended to solve some problem. But what problem does the law proposed by Anne Stava-Murray seek to solve in HB 4876? Her bill would expand the definition of child abuse to include a parent or other member of the household who...
By Thomas Hampson
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02.09.24
Our ability to protect children from sexual exploitation is declining every day. The environment has become sexually saturated. Prime-time programs on broadcast television promote casual sex, even for teens. Pornography is impossible to avoid short of disconnecting all electronics. Standards of dress and conduct have become eroticized. Societal taboos about sexual experimentation have severely eroded, and internal inhibitions have steeply declined.
By Thomas Hampson
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01.31.24
There are 341,000 students in the Chicago Public Schools, divided among 638 schools—476 elementary schools and 162 high schools. According to the recent report by the Chicago Public Schools Office of Inspector General (OIG), there were 446 sexual misconduct allegations reported to the OIG during the calendar year 2023.
By Thomas Hampson
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01.25.24
Why are local elections so uninteresting to voters? Local elections in Illinois generally draw about 16% of registered voters. This is compared to the average turnout over the last 20 years for presidential elections in Illinois of 63% and the average turnout in the off-year elections of 44%.
By Thomas Hampson
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01.16.24
Recently, I noticed an online post of a local church that read: “Everyone is welcome! No exceptions. Period.” Really? Everyone?
By Thomas Hampson
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01.03.24
How we spend our time and money reveals what we care about. That principle applies not only to individuals, but to groups, to corporations, to governments. What people say means very little. It’s what they do that counts.
By Thomas Hampson
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12.27.23
In his book, Slouching Toward Gomorrah, Robert Bork warned that the left’s efforts to create a radical vision of egalitarianism are eroding our traditional values, values that are required to sustain our Republic. The book was written more than 25 years ago, before any Christian denomination would recognize so-called "gay" marriages.
By Thomas Hampson
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12.15.23
Most people have never heard of Harry Hay, yet his actions, starting in the 1940s, profoundly impacted our culture and continue to do so today, long after his death. If you don’t know who he is, you should. He was one of the founders of the homosexual activist movement along with his sometime lover, Will Geer.
