LGBT Activist Cartoons

LGBT activists mock Christian ministry's decision to reclaim rainbow

The man behind the world-famous Ark Encounter has decided to reclaim "God's rainbow" - announcing the massive ark exhibit will be permanently bathed in rainbow lights.

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"We now have new permanent rainbow lights at the Ark Encounter so all can see that it is God's rainbow and He determines its meaning in Genesis 6," Answers in Genesis founder Ken Ham announced on Facebook.
"The rainbow is a reminder God will never again judge the wickedness of man with a global Flood—next time the world will be judged by fire," he said.
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The 500-foot-long ark is the centerpiece of the biblical theme park based in Williamstown, Kentucky. Hundreds of thousands of visitors have toured the replica of Noah's Ark.
"The Ark is lit permanently at night with a rainbow to remind the world that God owns it and He decreed it's a sign of His covenant with man after the Flood—Christians need to take back the rainbow as we do at the Ark Encounter," Ham said.

'I've been through worse': War-hero McCain tells Senate pal he'll be back

U.S. Sen. John McCain, who has been diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor, told Sen. Lindsey Graham over the phone Wednesday that he’s “been through worse,” and then went on to discuss health care and other policy issues.

McCain talked about the long road ahead regarding treatments, but said that he’s been though wars. Graham said McCain-- who is resting at his home in Arizona-- sounded resolved and determined.

“The disease has never had a more worthy opponent,” Graham said.
McCain was a prisoner of war in Vietnam for more than five years. Injuries from being tortured left the longtime Arizona senator unable to lift his arms above his head.
McCain, chairman of the Senate's Armed Services Committee, has glioblastoma, an aggressive cancer, according to doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, where McCain had a blood clot removed from above his left eye last Friday.
It’s the same type of tumor that struck McCain’s close Democratic colleague in legislative battles, the late Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts.
The tumor digs tentacle-like roots into normal brain tissue. Patients fare best when surgeons can cut out all the visible tumor, which happened with McCain’s tumor, according to his office. That isn’t a cure; cancerous cells that aren’t visible still tend to lurk, the reason McCain’s doctors are considering further treatment, including chemotherapy and radiation.
In a statement on Twitter, the senator's daughter, Meghan McCain, spoke of the shock of the news and the anxiety over what happens next. “My love for my father is boundless and like any daughter I cannot and do not wish to be in a world without him. I have faith that those days remain far away,” she said.
News about the operation to remove a blood clot above his eye took many by surprise. Some theorized that McCain may have showed signs of a health issue during last month’s Senate questioning of former FBI Director James Comey. The senator appeared to struggle with his line of questioning. At one point, Comey said, “I’m a little confused, senator.”
McCain blamed his vague questions on being tired from watching an Arizona Diamondbacks game the night before.
A neurosurgeon downplayed the Senate hearing testimony as evidence of the condition, USA Today reported. Dr. Joseph Zabramski, a neurosurgeon, told the paper that McCain “was normal” after the hearing and does not see a connection.
As word spread of his diagnosis, presidents past and present along with McCain’s current and former Senate colleagues offered support in an outpouring rarely seen in Washington.
“Senator John McCain has always been a fighter. Melania and I send our thoughts and prayers to Senator McCain, Cindy, and their entire family. Get well soon,” President Trump said.
A group of senators prayed together Wednesday night after learning that McCain had been diagnosed with a brain tumor, according to one of the lawmakers.
Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said he asked Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., who has a master's degree in divinity, to lead the group in prayer.
"It was very emotional," Hoeven added. The group of senators was taking part in an evening meeting to discuss health care.

Sessions Reinstates Asset Forfeiture Police at the Dept. of Justice

Attorney General Jeff Sessions addresses the summer meeting of the nation’s district attorneys from around the country at the Hilton in Minneapolis, Minn., Monday, July, 17 2017. Sessions said the Justice Department will soon make it easier for local law enforcement to seize cash and property from crime suspects and reap the proceeds. (Jerry Holt/Star Tribune via AP)

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The Justice Department announces plans to step-up efforts to seize property and money from suspected criminals.
Speaking at the department this Wednesday morning, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said civil asset forfeiture is a key tool in helping law enforcement de-fund organized crime.
Politicians and lawmakers have criticized the practice, saying it allows law enforcement to seize property without an indictment or ample evidence of a crime.
However, Sessions added there will be enhanced training on the expanded asset forfeiture laws, and his department will protect the rights of all law abiding citizens.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosentein tied the effort to the push to combat the nation’s opioid crisis, suggesting it would help local law enforcement fight the rise in drug overdose deaths.

Iran Resists New U.S. Sanctions

In this photo released by official website of the office of the Iranian Presidency, President Hassan Rouhani speaks during a cabinet meeting in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, July 19, 2017. Iran’s president said Wednesday that his country will stand up to the United States and reciprocate for any new sanctions that America imposes on the Islamic Republic. (Iranian Presidency via AP)

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The president of Iran vows he will resist President Trump’s new economic sanctions against the country.
In a statement Wednesday, President Hassan Rouhani said some of the U.S. actions violate the 2015 nuclear accord.
The country’s parliament agreed Tuesday to consider increasing funding for its missile program to retaliate against the new sanctions.
This comes just one day after the Trump administration applied the sanctions over Iran’s ballistic missile program for its quote — “malign activities” — in the Middle East, which could weaken any positive contributions from the 2015 deal.

North Korea Cartoons

Top US general: North Korea might have the range, but lacks in accuracy

The second highest-ranking U.S. military official said on Tuesday that despite North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile’s range, Pyongyang does not have the ability to hit the U.S. with “any degree of accuracy,” Reuters reported.

North Korea is believed to possess hundreds of missiles capable of striking South Korea and Japan. Its recent test of an ICBM put it one step closer to its goal of developing nuclear-armed missiles capable of reaching anywhere in the United States.

“What the experts tell me is that the North Koreans have yet to demonstrate the capacity to do the guidance and control that would be required,” Gen. Paul Selva, the vice chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
South Korea on Monday offered talks with North Korea to ease animosities along their tense border and resume reunions of families separated by their war in the 1950s.
It was unclear how North Korea will react since it remains suspicious of new South Korean President Moon Jae-in's outreach to it. But Moon's overture, the first formal offer of talks since his inauguration in May, indicates he wants to use dialogue to defuse the international standoff over North Korea's weapons programs, despite having condemned the North's first intercontinental ballistic missile test on July 4 and vowed a firm response.
After the ICBM launch, Kim said he would never negotiate over his weapons programs as long as U.S. hostility and nuclear threats persist.
The two Koreas have been divided since the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. About 28,500 American troops are stationed in South Korea.
Selva was asked about the U.S.’s next move in the region and said a preemptive military operation is something that should be considered.

Rand Paul: Republicans opposed to ObamaCare repeal have 'got some serious explaining to do when they go home'

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., slammed Republican senators who have said they would vote against a bill to repeal ObamaCare, telling Fox News Tuesday night that "they've got some serious explaining to do when they go home."

"People ought to keep their promise," Paul told "The Story" host Martha MacCallum. "If people are no longer for repeal, they’re going to need to go home and explain to their voters why they said they were for repeal and now they’re no longer for repeal."

Paul was referring to Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Ak., who said earlier Thursday that they would oppose an ObamaCare repeal bill without replacement legislation despite voting for a repeal measure in 2015.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced the vote on ObamaCare repeal would take place next week after a plan to replace the beleaguered health legislation collapsed for a second time.
Paul was a vocal critic of the Senate's ObamaCare replacement legislation, describing it as "a bunch of pork" and "an insurance bailout Superfund."
"If you vote for a Republican bill that keeps the [ObamaCare] death spiral and you simply say, ‘Oh, we’re going to subsidize it with $180 billion worth of taxpayer money,’ that’s not conservative, that’s not Republican, that’s not the free market, that’s not what we promised," Paul said. "I promised to vote for repeal and I’m going to keep my promise."
Paul also defended his fellow Kentuckian McConnell, telling MacCallum, "I don’t think the fault lies with leadership. I think the fault lies with those who promised to repeal and won’t now vote to repeal."

The troubling US post-prison experiment to ‘rehabilitate’ an ISIS supporter

hen a young man from Minnesota's Somali community who admitted trying to join ISIS appeared for sentencing in November, the judge made him an offer: avoid more prison time and participate in an experimental “terrorist rehabilitation.”

But two months ago Abdullahi Yusuf, 21, was back before the judge charged with violating the terms of his probation after watching a news documentary about western ISIS fighters in a halfway house where he is confined.

Critics say Yusuf’s troubles underscore the limits of trying to rehabilitate wanna-be terrorists in the U.S.
“Terrorist rehab is a joke and a total waste of U.S. taxpayer dollars,” said Col. James Williamson, who founded the group OPSEC that advocates for U.S. Special Forces. “All cases are different as are each of the individuals but as a rule, there is no such thing as rehabilitating a committed jihadist. They should be dealt with by military courts and, if not able to execute under the military courts martial, they should be locked up forever.”
This latest infraction was not Yusef’s first while undergoing de-radicalization in the halfway house.
After pleading guilty after his arrest in 2014, he was sent back to federal custody after a banned weapon – a box cutter – was found under his bed. His rehabilitation resumed after it was determined that the weapon belonged to a roommate.
When he appeared in court in May, Minnesota Federal Court Judge Michael Davis gave Yusef another chance, sending him back to the halfway house and the rehab program with a warning that further slip-ups would see him promptly back behind bars.
The judge told Yusef authorities were “working to make you well.”
Yusef is undergoing the de-radicalization as part of a sentence of 20-years-supervised release. His sentence takes into account the 21 months he spent behind bars and his cooperation with prosecutors.
Davis has made Yusef the poster boy for the first effort in the U.S. to de-radicalize rather than criminalize the offense. The judge believed Yusuf was a candidate, finding that he had been manipulated to try and join ISIS by three older Muslim freinds who are now in prison for providing support to the terror group.
The de-radicalization effort is following in the footsteps of countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Algeria and Denmark that offer rehab for terrorists. Such programs typically take several years and consist of a combination of religious teachings, creative therapies, vocational training and counseling.
Chief Kevin Lowry of the U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services to the District of Minnesota argued that terrorist rehab and de-radicalization programs are crucial for public safety, especially in Minnesota-- home to the largest Somali population in North America. In recent years more than 30 young Somali men in the state have been charged with having links to ISIS and Al-Shabab, a terror group in Somalia.
Lowry noted the trial rehab initiative is still running, and that they are continuing to train officers both in Minnesota and other states to develop new tools and strategies in the realm of rehabilitation. They are learning how the radicalization process works in the mind of a would-be terrorist and how to reverse it.
“Each individual is different, we tailor it to that person and to what enticed them. It is very important to take this seriously, we can’t allow extremism to grow,” Lowry said.
He stressed that more resources outside their scope are needed to really keep communities safe. As it stands, the program green-lighted by Judge Davis in Minnesota is designed to begin only at the time of arrest. Prevention programs to fight radicalization before it even starts are gaining some traction in local communities, yet it is still a relatively untouched area. Even more concerning, some experts say, is the lack of de-radicalization programs in prisons across the country.
“The probation office is only responsible for post-release, which means that for most of the defendants, the work will begin only after many years from now,” said Daniel Koehler, co-founder of the German Institute on Radicalization and De-Radicalization Studies (GIRDS), whom Davis personally tasked with laying the groundwork for the first U.S program given his unparalleled global experience in the field.
Koehler was tasked with assessing the convicted terrorists and training Lowry and his probation team. Since then, he noted, little has been done and the U.S overall still lacks any “comprehensive countering violent extremism strategy within federal prisons.”
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Authorities routinely complain that federal prisons have and will continue to become breeding grounds for radicalization among inmates. Furthermore, a January report by the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) entitled “U.S. Homegrown Violent Extremism Recidivism Likely” stated that “at least some of the more than 90 homegrown violent extremists incarcerated in the U.S. who are due to be released in the next five years will probably re-engage in terrorist activity, possibly including attack plotting.”
The Obama administration made a concerted effort to explore non-criminalization options, and an increasing number of U.N agencies – including those centered on education and development issues – have placed de-radicalization a top priority.
But the future of funding for de-radicalization programs under President Trump remains uncertain.
A Department of Homeland Security official told Fox News that they have no immediate plans to develop de-radicalization programs for convicted terrorists, but that they do support local efforts to create protocols and partnerships to conduct early interventions.
The Justice Department also stated that they were continuing to engage in outreach at the local level to “foster trust, improve awareness and educate communities” in the hopes of stopping radicalization before it starts. Yet the notion of de-radicalization and rehab rather than prison continues to generate debate.
Raheel Raza, President of the Council of Muslims Facing Tomorrow, which endeavors to reclaim Islam and opposes extremism, said de-radicalization can work – if only by “exposing the problem, educating the masses and eliminating the ideology.”
“President Trump should look into how such programs have worked, keeping in mind that bringing moderate, reform-minded Muslims to the table is urgent and can give important insights,” Raza said.
Leaders of other Muslim-majority countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia insist that their rehab initiatives are highly successful with low levels of re-offending. Other terrorism experts are more skeptical, and argue that these would likely be a waste of American taxpayer dollars.
“To devise a program to de-radicalize, we must first know what radicalizes them in the first place,” said Samuel Tadros, a Senior Fellow at Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom. “Is it merely violent acts? If that is the case, then no one is a radical until he actually commits an act, which makes the whole venture useless.”
Hollie McKay has been a FoxNews.com staff reporter since 2007. She has reported extensively from the Middle East on the rise and fall of terrorist groups such as ISIS in Iraq. Follow her on twitter at @holliesmckay

$5B in Student Loan Debt Could Be Gone Thanks to Missing Paperwork

Graduating students arrive for Commencement Exercises at Boston College in Boston, Massachusetts May 20, 2013. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder)

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Some college graduates may not have to pay off their student loans thanks to a clerical error.
According to the New York Times, nearly 200,000 private student loans issued by the National Collegiate Student Loans Trust are missing critical paperwork.
That amounts to around $five billion in loans.
The lenders are now are part of a major lawsuit.
The loans were originally granted to students by banks, bundled and then sold to the trust.
This makes it unclear who exactly owns them.
If National Collegiate can’t prove official documentation in court a judge will be forced to throw them out.