In his book, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, author Neil Postman describes the growth and outright dominance of the entertainment industry and the all-pervading influence it has had upon American culture. More to the point – the book illustrated how a culture could literally be dumbed down by the type of entertainment it dealt with and consisted of. Equally telling in the author’s mind was how much time was spent viewing and reading material that was as frivolously meaningless as it was sensual and vulgar.

When the Equitable Restrooms bill was introduced in Springfield, a familiar pattern started to emerge. As IFI readers know, HB1286 legalizes “all-gender, multiple-occupancy restrooms” in sporting complexes, stadiums, entertainment centers, conference centers, and other big venues in Illinois. Yes, “all-gender” is just what it sounds like – males and females using the same multiple-occupancy restroom at the same time, anytime. There are urinals and stalls and partitions.

Dozens of government schools across Illinois have been unable to produce even one single student proficient in reading or math, according to new data from the Illinois State Board of Education. In hundreds of schools across the state, just 10 percent of children are proficient in the basics. And it is getting worse.

With the vast number of books, movies, and songs written commiserating the consequences of bad choices (which would include most every Country and Western song written), one would think that young Americans would not need to be told to think carefully about their choices in life.  A popular British band sang, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” not that long ago, but America’s youth apparently never got the memo! 

According to Plato the two most important questions for society is who will teach the children and what is taught to them. That was true 2,500 years ago and it is still true today. Sadly, today there simply is no agreement on who teaches the children and nothing but confusion and wildly different positions on what should be taught. Therein lies the greatest threat to children in our modern age.

We've already given Stanford's Elimination of Harmful Language Initiative (EHLI) a word or two over their confused categories of "ableist language" and "racist language" but the horse we're beating is not quite dead yet. It's one thing to stigmatize normal phrases because their connotation or origin supposedly evoke offensive topics, as the Stanford harmful language list did with those two categories. It's another thing to stigmatize normal phrases because their grammatical structure evokes insensitivity. But believe it or not, academia at the highest level has managed to do just that with the advent of "person-first language."

It is simple: good people don't commit murder. Murderers do!  Multiple mass shootings over the last few years, and especially recently, have caused a great sense of frustration among citizens, yet the only message coming from some politicians is about reducing the number of guns in society. They never address the fundamental issue which is that guns in the hands of good people never cause a problem, and in fact often save lives. Yet law abiding citizens are always the target of Leftists’ gun control laws. 

The Associated Press Stylebook, a preeminent reference guide for English grammar and journalistic principles and style—used by both educators and journalists—has chosen some eyebrow-raising guidelines for how reporters ought to address the topic of abortion in their reports. These guidelines show us, on a much more subtle level, how fiddling with words is fiddling with minds. Let's look at one specific example in detail: the difference between "unborn baby" and "fetus."

Is it in the best interest of the child to be raised by a mother who ingested so much alcohol or drugs that it affected the child’s fetal development? Illinois State Representative LaShawn Ford (D-Chicago) does not think so. A bill he introduced for consideration this session of the General Assembly, HB 1468, would remove this provision in Illinois law.

Illinois State Representative Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago) has introduced H.B. 1591 in an attempt to insulate Illinois as a destination for same-sex couples to get a government "marriage" certificate. She and her like-minded friends believe that the U.S. Supreme Court may overturn the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision, striking down state bans on same-sex "marriage." Specifically, they fear that the majority of SCOTUS justices would overturn cases guaranteeing the rights to same-sex marriage, same-sex consensual relations and contraception by declaring the due process precedents, unconstitutional.

The high incarceration rate in America has raised many questions over the years and is one reason used by the Left for demanding radical changes to or even a dismantling of the Nation. They sometimes try to blame America’s Judeo/Christian...

Why is the Left bound and determined to force us to use their vocabulary? Aren't we all talking about the same things, whether we say "transgenderism" or "gender dysphoria," "homosexual union" or "homosexual marriage," "happy holidays" or "merry Christmas?" Let's take a brief overview of the biblical theology of language, shall we? I think we’ll uncover the very important answer.

It’s as if Satan is coming out in full force, red tights and all – if not literally, then metaphorically. What else can be said of the performance of “Unholy” at the Grammy Awards this past Sunday night?

When Vice President Kamala Harris gave a speech on the 50th anniversary of “Roe v. Wade” about a week ago, she infamously left out the Creator—when talking about our rights. One wag told me, “Hey, at least Kamala didn’t say, we ‘are created by … you know, the thing,’” as did her boss on the campaign trail.

Illinois’s recent assault weapons ban has provoked more than a little consternation across the state—as it should. The ban, passed by Governor Pritzker on January 10 of this year, immediately banned the sale of “assault weapons” and magazines with a capacity greater than ten rounds. The ban also requires current firearm owners to register their now-illegal weapons with the Illinois State Police. There’s only one problem for Pritzker: The vast majority of Sheriffs in are not on board.