You've probably heard---if you're listening, "that last Thursday was a red-letter day in American history---an occasion for dancing in the streets from Bangor to Burbank, and for socially distanced champagne toasts from Key West to Ketchikan," writes Bruce Bawer for "Front Page."
Bruce is sounding the alarm. So is Sen. Rand Paul, and the Catholic Church, and Protestant churches, and anyone who has even an inclination toward biblical truth about human sexuality.
President Biden has nominated "Rachel" Levine---formerly "Richard" Levine as the first openly transgender nominee for a high government office. Dr. Rachel Levine is Biden's choice for the next assistant health secretary for HHS.
The attack on parental authority is already developing.
Be informed, not misled.
Bawer asks, "Is Rachel a great, or even a competent physician? Who cares? It's 2021, and Rachel is a trans."
Fortunately, many do care.
Yesterday I mentioned that Democrat Rep. Jerry Nadler stormed to the podium when Rep. Greg Steube began addressing the House of Representatives regarding the direction that our country is going with regard to human sexuality. I mentioned that several videos of Nadler's attempt to silence him had been scrubbed from the internet, and there were several stories circulating that Nadler didn't say what he said---in context.
One of our radio listeners sent me a YouTube video that has not been scrubbed yet. Check it out for yourself---in context.
There is a growing concern over the general direction that the Biden administration is taking the culture. Especially in regard to this new nomination. That concern is being attacked as "transphobia," and labeled as "bigotry" and "hate." But it's not. There is both a spiritual concern and a parental concern regarding this person and the power and influence he/she will have.
Rachel is not only a transgender, Rachel is an activist transgender---now wielding the power of the US government.
Rachel's birth name was Richard, although that's pretty carefully handled by the press and the fact-checkers. One problem her supporters have is that she had a bar mitzvah, not a bat mitzvah.
Now 63, Rachel transitioned about 10 years ago and was divorced a couple of years later, leaving a wife and children to pursue his/her dream.
Now Rachel is a self-described champion of transgender youth---meaning among other things that we won't get into here, she strongly supports giving puberty blockers to children who say they're the opposite sex. And Rachel is "open" to ordering "gender-confirmation surgery to kids under age 18 with or without parental permission."
And therein lies the problem.
Sen. Rand Paul is not the only one who is upset, but he is definitely one of them.
The Catholic News Agency notes that Rachel has currently been serving as Pennsylvania's health secretary.
During the pandemic, it was reported that Rachel moved her mother out of a nursing home just prior to her mandating elderly people suffering with the coronavirus be moved into the nursing homes, with those who did not have the coronavirus.
But it's not only her lack of transparency and integrity, it's her activism as well that's troubling so many.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY.) pressed her during the hearings on the matter of minors being allowed to transition genders. And Levine refused to give straight answers. She would not directly answer his questions.
Paul asked Levine:
"Do you support the government intervening to override the parent's consent to give a child puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and/or amputation surgery of breasts and genitalia?"
Levine refused to answer. Rand Paul expressed his alarm at the non-answer.
Levine's response:
"Transgender medicine is a very complex and nuanced field"..."if confirmed to the position of assistant secretary of health, I would be pleased to come to your office and to talk to you and your staff about the standards of care and the complexity of this field."
Roger Severino, the former head of the HHS civil rights office, says he too questioned Levine with similar responses.
He says, "I asked her 'What does it mean to be male or female/' Much like Rand Paul. I couldn't get an answer. Science is about clarity and openness to review while ideology is about subjectivity backed by coercion of those who disagree."
On another day, Rand Paul asked again: "Dr. Levine, do you believe that minors are capable of making such a life-changing decision as changing one's sex?"
Levine's answer: "Transgender medicine is a very complex and nuanced field, with robust research and standards of care that have been developed."
Paul was beyond alarmed, but said, "I'm alarmed that you won't say with certainty that minors should not have the ability to make the decision to take hormones that will affect them for the rest of their life."
Levine has publicly advocated for teenagers to start taking puberty blockers at the start of puberty and for 14-16 year old's to take cross-gender hormones with a gradual increase, with surgery after age 18.
And Levine says regarding LGBTQ: "They do not have the luxury of protocols, so the transition process could be accelerated for them."
How does the left respond to all this?
Bawer says:
"Every word that Sen Paul said was utterly reasonable. Any response-minded senator---specially a senator who's taken the Hippocratic Oath---should've been expected to ask Rachel the kind of questions he did. By contrast, Rachel's refusal to answer them was the very height of insolence. In a saner worl, their exchange should've raised a red flag and ended Rachel's career in federal government before it started. But this isn't a saner world, and this hearing wasn't about healthcare. It was about celebrating the landmark nature of this appointment"
Washington State's Senator Patty Murray, the committee chair, undoubtedly spoke for her colleagues when, ignoring Levine's evasions, she scolded Sen Rand Paul for not treating Rachel with "respect" and for proffering "ideological and harmful misrepresentations."
The takeaway.
Clearly, Rachel Levine needs help, not a position of medical leadership. While "she" may be confused about the nuances of transgenderism, God is not confused.
In Romans, God speaks to this kind of confusion through the Apostle Paul: "Because although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God...but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened."
"Professing to be wise," the Bible says, "they became fools" and ultimately "exchanged the truth of God for the lie... serving the created, rather than the Creator" and for this reason, "God gave them up to vile passions."
"Progress" is not breaking through "social glass ceilings," "gender barriers," or cultural "no-no's,"-- true progress is only measured in terms of understanding God's created order and finding harmony with and acceptance of His order of human experience.
And most importantly, understanding that His answers are not nuanced, they are direct and easily understood.
Example: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes on Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life."
Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Thankful. Be Prayerful.