Random links of interest, concern or curiosity from the past week or so, that deserve at least a SHORT mention:

 
DOJ backs conservative students in lawsuit against Berkeley ~ Finally – some official push-back against the campus thought-police! ~

• The Department of Justice has filed a statement in support of two conservative student groups that are suing UC-Berkeley for infringing on their First Amendment rights.
• The students allege that administrators used a new “High-Profile Speaker Policy” to stymie their efforts to bring conservative speakers to campus, particularly Ann Coulter.

 
Ben Carson Responds to Atheist Group’s Suit: ‘I Will Not Stop Being a Christian’ ~ The atheists at Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) are whining because some Trump cabinet members meet weekly for Bible study. (Where were they 200 years ago when church services were being held in the U.S. Capitol building?) ~

“I refuse to be intimidated by anti-religious groups into relinquishing my spirituality or religious beliefs. One of the principles of our nation’s founding is freedom of religion. I will not stop being a Christian while in service to this country.” Added (HUD Secretary Ben Carson), “In fact, it is my faith that helps me serve the nation even better.”

Amen.

 
Black Writer: Black Caucus’ Behavior During SOTU Shows They Are ‘Slaves’ to Democratic Party ~

The YouTube star (Candace Owens – @RealCandaceO) also came to the defense of black conservatives who are often ostracized and ridiculed for sociopolitical beliefs that differ from 87% of the black community that politically aligns with the Democratic Party.
 
“For too long, blacks that have been trying to help the black community have been labeled coons, while those that wish to destroy it have been celebrated as heroes,” Owens wrote. “That chapter is coming to an end.

 
‘Sinking’ Pacific Island Actually Getting Bigger Shock ~ According to climatists, Tuvalu was doomed ten years ago ~

There were even dire forecasts of environmental refugees fleeing to Australia and New Zealand.
 
Tuvalu – the Pacific island group often cited by climate alarmists as the nation most immediately at risk from rising sea levels caused by ‘global warming’ – is not sinking after all.

 
Feminists protest over decision to let transgender women use ladies-only pool on Hampstead Heath ~ Because the Left’s reality-free ideology inevitably clashes with itself ~

The City of London Corporation who are responsible for the facility said self-identifying trans women were now welcome to use the pond and the female changing rooms.
 
In a statement, the Corporation said: ‘Over the last year all lifeguards and managers at Hampstead Heath ponds have taken transgender awareness training courses, which have been offered to, and taken by, the ponds’ swimming associations as well […]
 
But Mayday 4 Women have been campaigning against the change and have produced flyers to ‘keep the Hampstead Heath ladies’ pond a sanctuary for women’.
According to the group: ‘Males already have have access to two ponds: the men’s pond and the mixed pond. Why should they have access to three ponds when they already have access to two?’

 
Hong Kong Catholics hold prayer vigil to oppose Vatican capitulation to China ~ The pope may be confused, but these folks aren’t ~

(A)bout 200 Hong Kong Catholics gathered for an all night-vigil to pray and express alarm over the Vatican’s pending capitulation to mainland China’s push for more communist control over the Chinese Catholic Church […]
 
John, an underground priest, told ucanews.com that the Vatican’s plan is “like asking the underground church to take communion with the devil.” The underground church feels abandoned and betrayed, he said.
 
He went on to say that the “Holy See is mistaken if it believes it can achieve unity by supporting the Communist Party-controlled Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association.”

 
Bermuda Becomes First Country to Repeal Gay Marriage ~ They still recognize domestic partnerships – for benefits, etc., but at least this is an affirmation that marriage is a union between one man and one woman ~

“The act is intended to strike a fair balance between two currently irreconcilable groups in Bermuda, by restating that marriage must be between a male and a female while at the same time recognising and protecting the rights of same-sex couples,” commented (Walton Brown, Minister of Home Affairs), whose ruling Progressive Labour Party (PLP) suggested the repeal.

A Racist Con-Man: Obama’s Portrait Artist, Who Hires Cheap Chinese Labor To Paint “His” Work, Says “Kill Whitey” Is A Major Theme ~ Obama’s finally free to show his true colors; cheap, vile racism.

 
Justice Clarence Thomas says he’s ‘worn down’ with victimhood culture ~ During an on-stage interview at the Library of Congress in Washington this week ~

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said in a rare public appearance Thursday he’s exhausted with how everyone seems to consider themselves a victim these days […]
 
“When I was a kid, there were tons of people who were in really bad circumstances,” Thomas said. “My grandfather would not let us wallow in that.”

 
‘You guys are lucky I don’t know how to build a bomb,’ St. Kate’s arson suspect allegedly said ~ Guns aren’t necessarily the weapon of choice for all school terrorists. Although this particular terrorist was Islamic – and a female ~

A former St. Catherine University student charged with setting fires on the college’s St. Paul campus told police she did it because she’d “been reading about the U.S. military destroying schools in Iraq or Afghanistan and she felt that she should do exactly the same thing,” according to a criminal complaint filed Friday.
 
“You guys are lucky that l don’t know how to build a bomb because l would have done that,” Tnuza Jamal Hassan, 19, of Minneapolis allegedly told investigators after being arrested Wednesday afternoon in a campus dorm lounge.

 
Leave Right Now or Arm Yourself to the Teeth: Life in Caracas ~ Conditions in Venezuela just keep going from bad to worse ~

There’s little left now of the rich radio scene of yesteryear. Over the last decade, scores of programs—and entire stations—have been driven off the air by censorship, harassment and the purchase of media outlets by groups close to the socialist government. Those that didn’t come under attack were done in by the economic collapse.

 
Boys play with trucks, girls play with dolls: new study finds gender is biological ~ Who knew? ~

Research revealed in the Infant and Child Development Journal concluded that gender preferences in children are not so much the result of their environment and upbringing as they are intrinsic within the child. These findings contradict prevailing LGBTQQICAPF2K+ belief that gender is both externally directed and fluid.

 
Olympic God Medalist: ‘What captured me was that God loved me.’ ~ Halfpipe rider Kelly Clark became a Christian in 2004 ~

Clark’s coach, Rick Bower, said that he could see the change in her. “[Her faith] helped her focus,” he said. “It gave her some perspective that was beyond just herself. She found a purpose in life.”
 
Others could see the transformation, too. “They knew how much I partied, what kind of lifestyle I had, and how emotionally volatile I was,” Clark said. “After time, by watching me, they were able to come to the conclusion that, ‘Wow, this is a really, really great thing for Kelly.’”

 
Now Clark wants to lead others to Christ. “My ministry, and what God is doing in my life, is really found in my career in the marketplace,” she said. “I’m in an industry where it’s very foreign and it’s very counter-cultural. I get to love these people really well who would never step foot in a church.”

Check out Kelly’s story HERE.