The Satanic Temple claimed that Texas abortion laws infringed on their “rituals,” but the judge dismissed the suit for being filed in “bad faith.”

A federal judge in the Southern District of Texas has dismissed a lawsuit filed by The Satanic Temple (TST), calling their claims “willfully inadequate and deficient.”

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of “Ann Doe,” stems from TST’s claims that Texas abortion laws are preventing its members from performing their abortion “rituals.”

Lawyers on behalf of the complainant stated, “The abortion ritual requires an abortion; and affirms [Doe’s] religious subscription to TST’s Third and Fifth Tenets.”

Judge Charles Eskridge in Houston saw the case differently.

Eskridge called the complaint “spare and unusually cryptic” and explained that TST did not give sufficient information on how Texas law had a direct effect on their “belief structure.”

Providing numerous points of dissolution with TST’s claims, Eskridge continued on to explain that the “supposed ‘religious statutes’ aren’t specified or explained in any way. Neither are ‘the Seven Tenets’ or ‘the ritual.’”

The defendant in the case is Cecile Young, executive commissioner of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. She sought to dismiss this case, as she argued it lacked standing because the complaint failed to state a claim.

Young argued that the complaint should be dismissed also on the grounds of sovereign immunity, as it applies to state officials.

“Young argues that the third amended complaint is so devoid of explanation that Plaintiffs fail to demonstrate that any exception to sovereign immunity applies,” Eskridge said. “Plaintiffs don’t respond to this argument in any meaningful way.”

He went on to explain that it is not up to the court to “theorize what the best argument in this regard might be, or to imagine how they might be connected to facts that haven’t been pleaded.”

Eskridge continued this line of reasoning for the dismissal, stating that it is “unknown” how Young is involved in the enforcement of the complaint in the case at all. He asked in response, “How, when, why, and in what way did she apply them to Plaintiffs?”

Read more at: thetexan.news

Coach David Bloch was discussing the matter with several of his players when someone overheard the conversation and got triggered.

The coach said there are biological and physiological differences between boys and girls.

Coach Bloch had coached the team for more than a decade. He actually started the snowboarding program at the school back in 2011.

Bloch is a practicing Roman Catholic who believes that God created males and females with immutable sex, and that, based on scientific evidence, there are only two sexes, male and female and that sex is determined by a person’s chromosomes.

The following day, the superintendent of Windsor Central Supervisory Union summoned Bloch to her office and handed him a notice of “immediate termination,” while admitting that the investigation into Bloch’s conversation was not complete.

The notice accused Bloch of violating Windsor Central Supervisory Union Board’s Harassment, Hazing, and Bullying policy and the Vermont Principals’ Association related policy for “ma[king] reference to [a] student in a manner that questioned the legitimacy and appropriateness of the student competing on the girls’ team to members of the WUHS snowboard team”—all outside the student’s presence.

Read more at: www.toddstarnes.com

With imported sacrificial cows, ancient hymns and growing support, some nationalist Jews hope to rebuild their temple in Jerusalem’s Old City, at a site at the heart of Israeli-Palestinian tensions.

In a suburb of Tel Aviv, a group of choristers were getting ready for the moment they will rejoice at the reconstruction of the Jewish temple some 2,000 years after its destruction, which they believe will accelerate the arrival of the messiah.

But for others, realising their goal would massively inflame tensions around the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.

Chorister Shmuel Kam said Jews have been “waiting” two millennia for the revival of the temple.

Members of the Orthodox Jewish group claim to be descendants of the biblical Tribe of Levi, which performed hymns and music at the holy site.

“When the temple will be built, we will ask the Levites to come sing and they won’t know. They have to learn,” said Menahem Rozenthal, director of the men-only choir created a few months ago by the Temple Institute.

Founded in 1987, the institute aims to rebuild the temple, training choirs and clerics and making objects for use in religious rites.

While apprentice choristers come from across Israel to delve into the collection of ancient hymns, the Temple Institute has made all of the objects deemed necessary for Jewish rites according to rabbinical instructions.

These include priestly robes, baking moulds for bread, incense burners and musical instruments.

Read more at: www.france24.com

The metaverse has a dark side, it seems. Florida’s attorney general wants answers from social media giant Meta over human trafficking activities on its platforms. Since Meta platforms host up to 85% of child sex trafficking incidents reported on social media, it’s an urgent crisis that needs addressing.

As leftist media outlets launch disgusting attacks on the movie exposing child sex trafficking, “Sound of Freedom,” it turns out there’s another human trafficking problem not being discussed — except by Florida’s attorney general. AG Ashley Moody sent a letter on July 10 to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg highlighting the issue of human trafficking activities on Meta-owned platforms lnstagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger.

Moody also serves as Chair of Florida’s Statewide Council on Human Trafficking. The Council, under orders from the state legislature, recently looked into the “frequency and extent to which social media platforms are used to assist, facilitate or support human trafficking” in Florida, with the help of law enforcement agencies, the letter explained. Moody called the results “extraordinary.” They were also sobering.

From Moody’s letter to Zuckerberg:

According to the survey, 146 of the 271 reported instances of social media platform use in human trafficking were attributable to Meta platforms (lnstagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger), more than 53% of the reported instances involved. To put this number in perspective, after Meta platforms, the next-highest social media platform used in human trafficking was Snapchat, and it was utilized 19 times, seven times less than Meta platforms.

According to the 2022 Federal Human Trafficking Report, Facebook was the top platform used in recruitment of human trafficking victims from 2019-2022. Facebook and Instagram combined to make up 60% of the top ten platforms included in the study.

Now, if you discuss election fraud, a Hunter Biden scandal, or problems with transgender indoctrination of kids, Meta will be on you like a ton of bricks. But it doesn’t seem to be doing nearly enough to target human trafficking. Talk about messed-up priorities.

Read more at: www.pjmedia.com

An ex-psychic medium is addressing yet another occultic phenomenon spreading across social media: the concept of so-called “starseeds.”

Jenn Nizza, host of “Ex-Psychic Saved Podcast,” tackled the issue on the most recent episode of her show, noting the hashtag for starseeds has more than 950 million views.

Nizza, who brought on a guest named Hannah (@mustardseedhannah on TikTok) to discuss the matter, encouraged people to “mark and avoid” anything affiliated with starseeds. Like Nizza, Hannah also has an occultic background, having been taught palm reading and divination at an early age.

Now a Christian, Hannah speaks out against these practices and warns Christians to avoid such trends.

“First of all, let’s address what a starseed is,” Nizza said. “They believe [they are] an advanced spiritual being from other planets and realms.”

Hannah said the starseed paradigm is one in which people are told they have a “spark and it’s part of the universe and you can change the universe through this spark.” She said starseed ideology is akin to Scientology, claiming they “share doctrinal similarities.”

“The starseed ideology is so dangerous because it pulls in people who already feel lost and it gives them a place to think they can flourish and … walk into their identity, ascend, grow,” Hannah said. “What they’re looking for, they don’t know it, but it’s sanctification. But, instead, they found the counterfeit, which is ascension.”

The power people believe they contain within the starseed paradigm is dependent upon “other entities and frequencies,” with Hannah noting these individuals might point to chakras and negative energies to explain what might be unfolding in a person’s life.

Hannah specifically warned kids who have been “parented poorly” and don’t have a biblical worldview might seek out counterfeit lies and the New Age to try and find power and protection, making the starseed paradigm attractive to these individuals.

“When you don’t have a foundation on Christ Jesus, you are susceptible to all of the lies of the evil one,” Nizza added. “And he loves to prey on vulnerability.”

Read more at: www.faithwire.com

In June 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling in Groff v. DeJoy, a case involving a postal employee who sought an exemption from Sunday work for religious reasons. The Court clarified that employers must demonstrate substantial increased costs in relation to their particular business to deny a religious accommodation under Title VII. The justices sent the case back for further proceedings rather than deciding that the employee must prevail. The decision has implications for workers seeking accommodation for Sabbath observance and other religious practices.

Read more at www.dailywire.com

A June 2023 article described research examining the potential environmental impact of cultivated meat. The analysis suggested that production methods relying on highly purified, pharmaceutical-grade inputs could have a greater climate footprint than conventional beef. The findings were based on modeled production scenarios, not a demonstration that all cultivated meat is environmentally worse than livestock. Researchers identified production methods and purification requirements as important variables. The debate illustrates the uncertainty surrounding the environmental performance of technologies that have not yet reached widespread commercial scale.

Read more at www.sott.net

After facing removal, the Bible will remain in Utah’s Davis School District. Tuesday the district’s board of education unanimously voted to keep the Bible in school libraries. The Bible will not be taught in schools, but will still be available for students to read.

Local TV station KSL notes that the district reviewed the Bible and then voted earlier to remove it from elementary and junior high school students. The complaint that started the controversy was from a parent who was angered by a state law that made it easier to remove books that contained what many consider to be obscene material. This complainant pointed out that the Bible contains passages depicting violence and sexual themes, and should therefore be removed along with books that parents found objectionable. And the district concurred.

That sparked outrage among parents and state lawmakers alike. Fox 13 reported that, during a June hearing, State Senator Curt Bramble highlighted explicit content in a book that was approved to remain in the schools after the Bible had been banned. He commented, “Adults can tell the difference between a religious text from the Bible, the Torah, the Koran, the Book of Mormon, even though they depict historic or evidence of various acts, relative to pornography, that which is sexually explicit. I mean, come on, folks!”

Rep. Kera Birkeland queried, “How do we write and change this law to where books where a woman naked over a man with a gun to his head is allowed in the libraries of your junior high, and the Bible is not?”

Read more at: pjmedia.com

CBN News reported on five red heifers brought to Israel and plans discussed by groups interested in reviving the purification rite described in Numbers 19. Organizers said the animals would need to meet strict religious requirements before any ceremony could take place, and identified a possible location near the Mount of Olives. The report also described expectations surrounding a future temple. These were plans and hopes expressed at the time, not confirmation that a ceremony or temple construction had occurred.

Read more at www2.cbn.com

A 2023 advisory from U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy described loneliness and social isolation as significant public-health concerns. The report noted that religious and faith-based communities can provide regular contact, support, shared purpose, and a sense of belonging. It also observed declining participation in institutions that historically connected people, including religious organizations. The advisory did not claim that church attendance alone prevents illness; rather, it examined how stronger social connections may support physical and mental well-being.

Read more at washingtonstand.com