Crosstalk: May 31, 2016

​Many current news stories were highlighted--here are just a few of them: In Middle-east news: The Times of Israel reports that Iran is now saying they have the ability to destroy Israel in less than eight minutes. They are testing missiles, tests that are not forbidden by the Iran agreement, but are inconsistent with a UN Security Council resolution, Iran is also renewing support for the the Palestinian terrorist group, Islamic Jihad in Gaza, as they work to strengthen their fight against Israel. A Lebanese newspaper reports that Hezbollah celebrated the anniversary of Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon by announcing that they are building tunnels into Israel, and claiming that they taught Hamas to do the same along the Gaza-Israel border. Here are just a few of many stories about promoting and requiring accommodation of transgenders in stores, schools, and elsewhere: Eleven states are now filing suit against the directive by the Education and Justice Departments giving "guidance" to all public schools to open their rest rooms and dressing rooms for the use of students based on their gender identity, not their physical sex. The states include Texas, Alabama, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Utah, and Georgia, plus Arizona's Department of Education and Main Governor Paul LePage. 43 Republican members of Congress joined Democrats to vote for Barack Obama's trans-gender agenda, ratifying an executive order barring contractors who "discriminate" against sexual identity, even in their private employment policies. Southern Poverty and Law Center complained to the Judicial Inquiry Commission (JIC) of the State of Alabama about Chief Justice Roy Moore, and now former Legal Director of the SPLC has been Hired by the JIC to prosecute Moore. It is now reported by Lifesite News that in addition to the bathroom regulations in the "guidance" for accommodating transgender students in all public school, another provision states that during such activities as field trips that include overnight stays, school districts must allow biological males and females to stay together in the same hotel room, and if they alert the young women or their parents in advance, they risk a federal lawsuit. Target Stores are now suing a man who protected a girl who was being stabbed at a store in Pennsylvania. Her attacker was convicted of criminal assault, but Target now charges that the man, who was hailed at the time as a hero who likely saved her life, acted irresponsibly. Girl Scouts of NE New York will now allow trans-gender members. The governor of Oregon, Keith Brown, who is openly bi-sexual, has encouraged people to speak out positively in bi-sexual language.