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So Very Little Time to Stop It
By J. Jeff Toler for Shenandoah Christian Alliance j.toler@sca4christ.org
- As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. —Psalm 103:12
I receive emails from Jonathan Haidt of After Babel every week. On December 12, he writes of a situation that is both alarming and heartbreaking: the likely failure in implementing KOSA—the Kids Online Safety Act. The bill passed the Senate by a true landslide vote of 91 to 3. It passed the House where it “also enjoys strong bipartisan support.”
“And then, after all that work and all that support, the House leadership kills the bill without giving any believable justification.” Speaker Mike Johnson has said that he is killing the bill because he still has free speech concerns.
KOSA is legislation to prevent child sexualization, and because there is enormous, documented evidence that the need for such a bill to prevent the child sexual predation by users of online platforms like TikTok and Snapchat.
Internal documentation from ByteDance, who owns TikTok, reveal comments by one company executive who plainly says, “The product in itself has baked into its compulsive use.” Another stated, “The reason kids watch TikTok is because the [algorithm] is really good. But I think we need to be cognizant of what it might mean for other opportunities. And when I say other opportunities, I literally mean sleep[ing], and eating, and moving around the room, and looking at somebody in the eyes.”
As of this moment, TikTok is releasing content that contains “35.71% of ‘Normalization of Pedophilia content,’ 33.33% of ‘Minor Sexual Solicitation’ content, 39.13% of ‘Minor Physical Abuse’ content, 30.36% of ‘Leading Minors Off Platform’ content—taking them to porn sites for example, 50% of ‘Glorification of Minor Sexual Assault’ and 100% of ‘Fetishizing Minors’ content was missed by TikTok’s content moderation process.”
So, why would House leadership, when they have a perfectly serviceable tool for putting a stop to such predations, put a halt to KOSA’s passage?
According to The Hill correspondent Miranda Navarro, “House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) cautioned Republicans against rushing to pass a bill to protect kids and teens online on Tuesday as the GOP prepares to take control of the White House and Congress.”
“While he said he is ‘100 percent’ supportive of the principles behind [KOSA], he still has concerns about the measure’s implications for free speech. When you’re… dealing with the regulation of free speech,” he told reporters, “you can’t go too far and it be over-broad, but you want to achieve those objectives. So, it’s essential that we get this issue right.”
While that might be true, at the very least, the case could be made for a distinction between free speech and the promulgation of child porn and abuse. This bill is likely to come up again in the 2025 legislature calendar. We need to make sure it does and encourage our Speaker Johnson and all our representatives to pass it. I plan on writing and phoning his office, and encourage others to do the same.
No Moral Restraint: Presidential Pardons and Selling Our Security
Few were surprised President Joe Biden pardoned his profligate son, in spite of repeated, and emphatic denials he would do so. Surveys show only two in ten Americans approve of the decision. He has followed it with hundreds of pardons and commutations since, many a little questionable, like former [Judge Michael Conahan], convicted of child sex racketeering in 2011.
The Hunter pardon itself is unprecedented given the scope of it. But if we think Mr. Biden did what any loving father would do, it’s arguable that he isn’t even now doing his son any favors.
Dr. Jordan B. Petersen
Dr. Jordan Petersen gives an analysis of the sordid and pathetic story of Joe and Hunter Biden that brought them to this point. In a DailyWire exclusive, Petersen presents the “psychology and pathology associated with narcissism, addiction, infantilization, enablement, and an unyielding ability to lie, all of which have mixed perfectly to forever spoil an already tarnished Biden legacy and upend the current iteration of the Democratic Party.”
The timing of the “laptop from hell,” as it’s now known, Hunter’s drug use, and massive conflicts of interest schemes are a massive moral failing. America is again, subjected to humiliation on the world stage because of it. But an act of love? Hardly. It’s much more likely a pitiable last-ditch act of self-preservation.
Peterson analyzes Hunter’s potential vengeful motives by citing the timing of his laptop leak, likely with the incentive to undermine his father’s presidency. He raises Hunter’s affair with his brother’s widow. The leaked sex tape indicates manipulative and vengeful behavior. All of this was a result of, and exacerbated by, his enabling parents.
This has become the very public reveal of Biden’s codependent parenting. Being the youngest sibling, Hunter likely tried and failed repeatedly to gain favor with his father. But if he was angered by his older brother being the favorite, would that surprise us? Bedding his brother’s widow is likely confirmation.
The Biden’s have a history of portraying Hunter as a victim of addiction and unfair prosecution, but not holding him accountable for his criminal acts.
Some say this approach reflects the Liberal progressives’ tendency to view criminals as victims, rather than recognizing the reality of evil and the need for accountability.
The Biden family is a particularly sad story. But the damage of decades of grifting, opportunism, and cynical politics is come to an end. We hope.
And Finally, a Heart-breaking, Horrifying Story of Self-Loathing
Lily Phillips. Few, not any, of my readers will have heard of her. This is a good thing, because she is the star of a very profitable OnlyFans channel in the UK. For the uninitiated, OnlyFans is a social media platform and video hosting service where content creators can share exclusive content with subscribers who pay for access.
What kind of content? OnlyFans is primarily known for its adult content, but creators can also share content in other industries, such as fitness, music, and art. But make no mistake, it’s really a porn site.
Phillips made the news recently In the Josh Pieters documentary titled, I Slept With 100 Men in One Day. To date, she reportedly has made millions of dollars with her channel.
Her story would have gone unnoticed save for a YouTube clip that went viral and was picked up by more than a few mainstream outlets. Phillips can be seen breaking down in tears, and walking away from the camera after she says she felt somewhat “robotic” sleeping with that many men in one day.
But what she also confessed is even more heart-breaking. Phillips told Pieters at one point during the 47-minute documentary—which has garnered nearly 3.5 million views in a week, “My parents knew straight from the start about what I was doing. I was very open with it.” Mercy.
There are reasons for hope and enthusiasm with the political changes today, but we are far from breathing fresh air. Because these news stories are not-so-happy reminders we continue to live in a sick, sinful, and dying world.
In addition to writing your congressman, make this the advent season that our prayers might include redemption for the Biden and Phillips families, and certainly for the rescue and protection of the children and families who are targets of depravity, manipulation, and abuse.
I know this wasn’t easy to read. It wasn’t easy to write.
Photo by Heather Zabriskie on Unsplash
