August 2019 Newsletter
Founder’s Page
Dear CIC Supporters & Friends,
There wasn’t time to include an article in this edition of Christian Citizenship In Action, but there is another development in the effort to cheat those of us in unincorporated Hillsborough County out of any additional road capacity! Four County Commissioners (Miller, Kemp, Smith, Overman) voted to restore through a county ordinance the tax revenue allocations that had been declared unconstitutional as part of the Charter
Amendment that was passed in November. Those allocations mean that there will be virtually no money spent on new lane capacity - that means no congestion reduction - in the unincorporated part of the county.
On top of that, a couple years back the County Commission voted to allocate a portion of any increases in tax revenue toward road construction and the corresponding congestion reduction. That increase is solving traffic problems today and is projected to produce nearly $1 Billion of road improvements over the next 10 years.
Now, those same four commissioners are talking about rescinding that ordinance. It’s anyone’s guess as to what wacky uses they’ll find for the money if they do repeal that designated use of the taxes raised.
All four of them will run county wide in their next election. Miller is running for Clerk of the Court in 2020. The other three are all county-wide Commissioners. We need to make sure every friend and family member in Hillsborough County knows how they’ve mistreated us.
In the “ongoing efforts” column, I’m still actively involved in the effort here with Hillsborough County Schools to implement a sex ed curriculum that doesn’t encourage our kids to have sex, just be sure to “do it safely”. The latest development in this saga is that the committee that is charged with making the initial decision on what material to use has opted to develop something new. They are in that process now and should finish soon.
Once it’s done, I’m supposed to get an opportunity to review it. All the Board members, the Superintendent, and the Chief Academic Officer will receive a copy to review also, and several of them have agreed to meet and compare notes.
This is vitally important for our children’s future! It’s still very much in flux. Please make wisdom for me and wise decisions for the decision makers a priority prayer.
The group in Pinellas County continues to grow, as do the number of people who are signing petitions. Our immediate effort is to encourage, educate, and recruit Pastors who are opposed to graphic sex ed curriculum. Through their congregations the plan is to instruct people in how to contact School Board members and educate them on the issues that must be addressed.
It appears that the major changes - to make the curriculum more explicit - won’t be pushed until the 2020-2021 school year. We’ve got a good start and will continue to ramp up our efforts through this year to be in a position to preemptively press the Board to Protect Pinellas Children next year.
Pasco County has been in that momentum building process for the past year. We now have thousands of petitions, a professionally done website - ProtectPascoChildren.org, yard signs, T Shirts, car decals, a Facebook page and group, (please find Protect Pasco Children, like it, and write a positive review), and more people coming to speak to the School Board at every meeting.
We’ve developed a strategy that includes a concerted social media effort to get the truth out about the District’s “transgender” bathroom and shower plan. We are also distributing the other marketing tools and will soon hold another townhall meeting. Our “grand opening” will be demonstrations the first day of school, August 12th, with our Protect Pasco Children yard signs and T Shirts at one or more schools when parents are dropping off and picking up their kids.
These challenges to our ability to live out our faith aren’t going away! Please continue to provide the support and encouragement that make CIC’s work possible.
Together we can make a difference!
God bless you
Terry Kemple
Letters To The Editor
St. Pete Council Candidate Speaks Out!
Re: “To hell with gay pride”: July 23, 2019
Dear Editor:
The subtle inferences embedded in this Times “news” story make it apparent that the Times doesn’t agree with Chico Cromartie’s views. Of particular significance is the strategic utilization of one line out of the American Psychological Association’s statement on what causes homosexuality. Author Josh Solomon excerpts the last 13 words – “most people experience little or no sense of choice about their sexual orientation” – to cleverly reinforce the idea that Cromartie is out of synch with actuality.
The reality is that Mr. Cromartie is, on this issue, out of step with political correctness but fully in line with science. The complete APA statement is: “There is no consensus among scientists about the exact reasons that an individual develops a heterosexual, bisexual, gay or lesbian orientation. Although much research has examined the possible genetic, hormonal, developmental, social and cultural influences on sexual orientation, no findings have emerged that permit scientists to conclude that sexual orientation is determined by any particular factor or factors. Many thinks that nature and nurture both play complex roles; most people experience little or no sense of choice about their sexual orientation.”
Try as they might, homosexual activists have been unable to produce any genetic link to homosexuality. In fact, there is a greater amount of scientific evidence – as exhibited by the “identical twins” and other studies – that points to the fact that homosexuality is not a function of one’s genes.
That means there is at least as great a likelihood that homosexuality is a matter of nurture and (perhaps subconscious) choice than that it stems from any natural causes.
The Times is entitled to print its opinion. It should be on the Opinion Page and not craftily disguised as news.
Superintendent Eakins Will Be Missed!
Re: “One last pep talk”: July 16, 2019
Dear Editor:
Hillsborough Superintendent Jeff Eakins is a good man. That’s the most important takeaway anyone who has had the opportunity to work with him will remember. You may not agree with what he says, but you know that when the words come out of his mouth, they are the truth as he knows it.
I was one of the few conservative leaders in Hillsborough County who actively and vocally supported him in the effort to pass the sales tax referendum. Even though I agreed that the improvements were necessary, that wasn’t the reason for the support. It was totally because of Jeff’s integrity and candor and the confidence they instilled in me that the money would be used as stated and the tax would end in 10 years that earned the trust and support.
It’s a shame for us that he’s leaving next year! His leadership, levelheadedness, and trustworthiness made (and continue to make) him the ideal leader for Hillsborough County Schools.
For the sake of our children and community, I pray the School Board can find someone with
even close to the same qualifications.
Nancy Pelosi And The Good Samaritan!
Re: “Nancy and Good Samaritan”: July 16, 2019
Dear Editor:
Watching Nancy Pelosi in a recent TV interview as she spoke about the “Gospel of the Good Samaritan” was actually quite revolting. This is the same Nancy who is an unwavering supporter of abortion at any time for any reason. The same Nancy who has the blood of millions of unborn babies on her hands.
She is among those (politicians, in particular) who will use portions of Scripture when they can use it as a club to attack others but live as if they have no awareness of or fidelity to the Bible as a guide for their own lives.
Hearing her pontificate as if she has some moral authority to be a spokesman for Biblical values
was revolting. It made me want to vomit.
Leonard Pitts Misses A Key Point! July 16, 2019
Re: “What Will We Do Without Local Newspapers”
Dear Editor:
In his editorial about the demise of local newspapers, Leonard Pitts laments the hole created by their downfall. I agree with him in his lamentation, we need more, not less, reliable local news. He comments: “The hole they leave would not be filled by CNN; whose original reporting tends to center on national – usually political – news.”
He brings up the changing economic landscape and the competition specifically from social media as causes. What he and others of the left wing/progressive mindset fail to acknowledge is that people recognize and recoil from phoniness. When “reporters” and their editorial boards are trying to “make news” rather than report the news, it turns potential readers away.
Even at the cable TV level this fact is proven out. Pitts mentions CNN in his article. The drastically reduced number of viewers who watch CNN since it launched its anti-Trump campaign and experienced its massive “collusion fail” coincides with the loss of subscribers – and correspondingly advertising and subscription revenues – that “news” papers are experiencing today.
News consumers want a balanced diet. The success of FOX News and The Wall Street Journal should serve as a model for success for news media. Our country is still a center-of-the-road majority. Treating those of us who hold center-right and right-wing views as if our perspectives don’t count – or are even counter-productive – doesn’t bode well for the future of any media outlet.
Supreme Court Is Not Supreme!
Re: “Judge rejects new legal team for census”
Dear Editor:
As the courts continue to usurp the authority of the other governmental branches and erode our form of government, they’re encouraged in their power grab by weak-kneed elected officials. Your article says that a federal judge rejected the Trump Administration’s request to assign a new legal team to its effort to put a citizenship question on the Census. The article also states that the Administration requested the change of counsel because the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) put the Census question plan on hold after determining the rationale for asking the question was “contrived”.
How, exactly, does the Court have any jurisdiction? The Commerce Department is part of the Executive Branch and is responsible for conducting the Census. How does the SCOTUS opining that the reason is “contrived” have any bearing on the issue? The question has been asked many times on the Census in the past. SCOTUS said the Executive had the authority to ask the citizenship question, they just didn’t like the reason for asking.
Our system of government is being degraded daily because the Legislative and Executive Branches of our government fail to hold the Judicial Branch in check! Chief Justice Roberts was the deciding vote in the SCOTUS decision. In his effort to have the Court appear non-partisan under his watch, he has opened the door to even greater incursion by federal courts into the areas of responsibility of the other branches.
What is on the Census is a decision that should be made by the Executive Branch. They should simply print the forms and include the citizenship question and let SCOTUS twiddle it’s thumbs!
Vernon Smith Misses Key Point!
Re: “Adam Smith On Justice”: July 11, 2019
Dear Editor:
In his op-ed about Adam Smith’s perspective on justice, Vernon Smith boils Adam’s opinion down to, basically, do no harm. Or, in other words, do what you feel is right as long as you don’t hurt anyone else. While that may have been Adam Smith’s position on the matter, simple observation of reality stands in crystalline support of quotes from numerous others who were in leadership positions at the time of America’s founding and today. If you don’t recognize the names of some of these key Founders or recent leaders, please renew (or begin) your study of real American History.
Here’s proof that reality coincides with what the Bible says, that people are born into a fallen condition. Watch two tots playing with toys. How many times do they scream, “Mine,” and hit at each other? Grow them up any number of years and the same selfishness manifests itself over and over.
Washington said that “…religion and morality are indispensable supports … of political prosperity”. In 1783, Benjamin Rush said, “Without religion, I believe that learning does real mischief to the morals and principles of mankind.”
John Adams, “Statesmen, my dear Sir, may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is religion and morality alone, which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand.” John Quincy Adams, “The Declaration of Independence laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity.”
John F Kennedy, “And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe -- the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.”
Chuck Colson, “We have discovered that we cannot live with the chaos that inevitably results from choice divorced from morality.”
The Northwest Ordinance, signed by the same Congress that passed the Constitution: “Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.”
If you study real American History, you’ll come away knowing without doubt that America’s Founders understood that reliance on a Higher Authority, God Almighty, was needed for their “experiment” to succeed.
Russian Hoax Finally Dies!
Robert Mueller’s apparent lack of mental and verbal acuity has given credence to the supposition that he is not competent to run an investigation as meaningful as the “Russia probe”! The one most likely to have actually been the manager of the witch hunt is Clinton-loving, Trump-hating prosecutor Andrew Weissmann.
The Times’ attempt to legitimize two comments, in particular, is graphic evidence of the media bias President Trump has railed against. I agree with him that the media bias, which leads the media to mischaracterize statements and facts, makes you an enemy of the people because you’re trying to shape the news to match your ideology instead of reporting the truth.
You know full well that prosecutors don’t exonerate people. They either charge them or they don’t. You repeat that misrepresentation of the truth without further explanation is a disservice to your readers!
You are also aware that Mueller said in a group meeting with AG Barr and others, and twice more, including in the afternoon to correct his morning mistake, that the OLC opinion on not indicting a sitting President played no part in the decision not to charge the President.
Each time, he said that there was not enough evidence to bring charges.