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Gov. Eric Holcomb has kept a low-profile as bills on hot-button social issues have been moving through the Indiana General Assembly. That could end soon if bills on abortion and school prayer land on his desk.(Photo: Robert Scheer)Buy Photo

One of the key questions about Gov. Eric Holcomb when he emerged as a candidate for governor and after he was elected was which of his two immediate predecessors would he most resemble when it comes to hot-button social issues.

Mitch Daniels is largely remembered for attempting to call a truce in the culture wars, although late in his term he signed a bill blocking Medicaid funding to groups that perform abortions. The legacy of Mike Pence, meanwhile, was colored by controversial eruptions over same-sex marriage and religious freedom and the court challenge to block an abortion bill he signed.

Holcomb worked for both governors. Hemade it clear during his campaign he is allied with social conservatives on issues such as abortion. But he also signaled a more nuanced approach. In his State of the State address, he made no mention of cultural warfare, focusing instead on meat-and-potatoes issues such as roads and bridges, workforce development and the states economy.

Soon, though, he could be confronted with a trio of bills that have been moving steadily through the Indiana General Assembly that deal with the kinds of culture wars issues that wind up on voter scorecards.

One of the bills wouldensure parents have a seatin the courtroom if their minor daughterapproaches a judge seeking permission for an abortion without parental approval. A second requires abortion providers to give women seeking a medically-induced abortion information about an unproven method to stop andreverse the abortion pill. Finally, a school prayer billwould essentially write into law the types of religious expression courts have said are allowable in public schools.

All three bills have passed one legislative chamber, raising the prospect that they could soon land on Holcomb's desk andprompt the revival of a question that has been circulating since last summer.

Ive been asked on numerous occasions, Is he Mike Pence or is he Mitch Daniels? said House Speaker Brian Bosma. And I would say, He is Eric Holcomb. He was part of both administrations and seen leadership qualities and characteristics of each, and will chart his own course.

Bosma and GOP Senate leader David Long say they have discussed the abortion and prayer bills in Holcombs presence during their regular meetings with the governor. But they say Holcomb has offered almost no input on them.

As a candidate, Holcomb said he "supports measures that protect the unborn" and would have signed a bill Pence approved thatcreatedabortion restrictions dealing with fetal gender and disabilities a lawlater blocked infederal court. ButHolcomb's spokeswoman said he has not yet taken positions on the pending legislation. And lobbyists and advocacy groups say Holcomb has kept such a low profile on these bills as to be nearly invisible.

These issues are not a priority for the governor this session," spokeswoman Stephanie Wilson said. At this stage, hes only weighing in on bills that reflect his legislative priorities

The abortion and school prayer bills now advancing through the legislature have captured the attention of activists and lobbyists, but they mostly nibble around the edges of those issues. There are only about 20 instances a year in Indiana where minors seek court approval for abortions without a parent's permission. Drug-induced abortions are, by some estimates, only 15 percent of all abortions. Many people on both sides of the school prayer bill say it doesn't break much new ground, but instead puts existing case rulings into Indiana law.

Long said he expects Holcomb to adhere to his stated opposition to abortion, but he acknowledges the issues present an early indicator of Holcombs approach. Its all brand new; its only a month and a half in, Long said. He hadnt had a chance to show his hand on exactly where he stands.

Rep. Terri Austin, D-Anderson, who has argued vehemently against the abortion pill proposal and is skeptical of the need for the school prayer bill, hopes Holcomb will take a measured approach.

So far, shes been impressed by Holcombs focus on issues such as roads, preschool funding and drug abuse prevention and on his decisions to pardon a wrongfully-convicted felon and to address lead contamination problems in East Chicago. She says Holcomb appears to have a strong moral compass.

As a new administration and a new chief executive, you get one opportunity to come out of the gate and define your leadership style, Austin said. Especially on issues like this.

The most sweeping bill introduced this year on the culture wars front one that would essentially outlaw abortion died in committee after House Republican leaders decided it had no chance to withstand a court challenge. Theres a difference of opinion on how well the remaining menu of issues will serve as an indicator of Holcombs approach on such thorny matters.

Patti Stauffer, a vice president for public policy for Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, has concerns about both abortion bills. She says Holcomb has an opportunity to set the tone for his tenure in office by opposing them. It is an opportunity for him to be able to set a path for us that will be productive, constructive and farsighted, she said.

Micah Clark, executive director of the American Family Association of Indiana, said the advancing bills dont greatly stretch the boundaries of social policyand thus arent much of a test for the depth of Holcombs convictions. He expects the governor to support thembut acknowledges theres been no indication hes been closely engaged with them. That fog may be about to lift, Clark said.

I guess well see if they get to his desk."

Call IndyStar reporter Robert King at (317) 444-6089. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

These measures have cleared one chamber of Indiana General Assembly. If they reach Gov. Eric Holcomb's desk, they could provide more insight on where he stands on hot-button social issues.

House Bill 1128 Author: Rep. Ronald Bacon, R-Chandler.

Whats in the bill:It requires abortion providersto give a woman seeking a drug-induced abortion a state-created information sheet about medical professionals who can aid in the possible reversal of the abortion pill process. The information would include a disclaimer that: No scientifically validated medical study confirms that an abortion may be reversed after taking abortion inducing drugs. Listed also would be information to the website of an Ob-Gyn association thats highly skeptical of the process. It also requires abortion clinics to provide the state with additional information about patients, including the number of her previous children, miscarriages and date of last menses.

Status: Passed the House by a vote of 54-41, with 17 Republicans joining all but two Democrats in opposing it. Assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Senate Bill 404 Author: Sen. Erin Houchin, R-Salem.

What it does: Gives the parent or guardian of a pregnant minor the right to attend and testify at hearings where the minor is seeking court permission for an abortion without parental consent. (Currently, parents are excluded.)Requires the parent be served with a court summons. Requires minor to seek waiver of parental consent by 16 weeks into the pregnancy. When a parent consents to the abortion, that consent must be provided through a notarized, written form; the parent must provide a government identificationand some evidence that proves the person is the parent or guardian. Enables parents to sue those who help a pregnant minor obtain an abortion without parental consent or a court waiver.

Status: Passed the Senate by a vote of 36-13, with four Republicans joining all the Democrats in opposition. Assigned to House Committee on Public Policy.

Senate Bill 1024 Author: Rep. John Bartlett, D-Indianapolis.

What it does: Establishes in state law that public schools shall not discriminate against a student or parent based on religion, that students can express their beliefs in schoolwork and their clothing, that students can pray or engage in religious expression before, during and after school, organize prayer groups and religious clubs, use school facilities to the same extent as students with secular views do. Requires schools to establish a limited public forum at all school events. Requires schools to accommodate students who wish to be excluded from religious activities.

Status: Passed the House 83-12, with 15 Democrats joining most Republicans in support. Assigned to Senate Education and Career Development.

More on Holcomb:

With Pence gone, fellow Republicans undo his work in Indiana

Gov. Holcomb pardons Keith Cooper

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Soon? Holcomb's first tests on culture wars - Indianapolis Star

Silent treatment a protest by members of the Polski theatre in September 2016. Photograph: Natalia Kabanow

Since 2014, Teatr Polski, one of Polands leading theatre companies, has toured worldwide with an adaptation of Thomas Bernhards Woodcutters, directed by the widely acclaimed Krystian Lupa. Last December in Paris, at the curtain call, audiences were treated to an additional performance: the actors returned to the stage with their mouths defiantly stuck shut with black tape.

The silent protest was the most recent of many against the companys management and its director, Cezary Morawski, who took over in September 2016, replacing the long-serving Krzysztof Mieszkowski. The escalating row casts a spotlight on the complex relationship between politics and culture under the jurisdiction of Polands ruling nationalist Law and Justice party. It also echoes a recent dispute at Berlins Volksbhne theatre, where critics have questioned incoming director Chris Dercons stage experience, and fear he will take the company in a more mainstream, commercialised direction. Teatro Polskis actors have said Morawskis artistic approach is old-fashioned, lacking in ambition and risk, and has already damaged the theatres credibility.

The dispute at the publicly funded institution, based in Wrocaw in western Poland, has seen staff dismissals, petitions against Morawski including one in France that was signed by more than 1,200 people, including Juliette Binoche, Isabelle Huppert and Peter Brook and the intervention of Polands culture minister, Piotr Gliski, whose department supplies a substantial part of the theatres funding. Regional Polish authorities began preliminary dismissal proceedings against Morawski in February, and the national government is expected to make a non-binding recommendation on his future by 15 March. If he is dismissed, Morawski has said he will appeal against the decision.

Leading actors have left the theatre, others have been fired by the director for their part in the protests, and even for making negative statements about his directorship, Lupa told the Guardian. If this fight will indeed be a success, that victory is not to be underestimated.

The roots of the conflict go back to 2015, shortly before the theatres premiere of Der Tod und das Mdchen (Death and the Maiden I-V: Princess Plays), based on a book by the Nobel prize-winning Austrian writer Elfriede Jelinek. At the time, Gliski wrote to the Lower Silesian administration, which oversees the theatres management, to accuse the play of pornography in its full and literal meaning and calling for it to be cancelled. The play begins with a scene of simulated foreplay, which the theatre claimed was an exploration of the relationship between torturer and victim. The production was typical of what Lupa a former collaborator who has severed ties over Morawskis appointment describes as the institutions aura of independent art and independent discourse something that is increasingly at odds with the pro-Catholic, ultra-conservatism of Polands government. Croatian playwright Oliver Frljis production of Kltwa (The Curse), which premiered at Warsaws Teatr Powszecheny last month and tackles subjects including sexual abuse in the Catholic church, has attracted nationalist protesters, political condemnation and criticism from state media.

Morawski, a former television actor, replaced Mieszkowski after a selection process that detractors claim was non-transparent and politically motivated. Morawskis opponents say he lacks experience in running a similar venue. He wont risk anything. He will do everything the government will say, said Micha Opaliski, one of the protesting actors, against whom the theatre has started dismissal proceedings. Morawski blames Mieszkowski, who has been a member of parliament in the liberal Modern party since 2015, for the theatres politicisation.

Morawskis relationship with staff who were already upset by his appointment quickly deteriorated, exacerbated by his artistic priorities. I wanted to make the number and quality of the pieces in the theatre broader. We want to go back to the classics, Morawski said in a telephone interview. We want to attract new people and new, broader audiences. Of course we want to have a modern interpretation, and this can translate into some experimentation. He emphasised that when it comes to topics, there are no restrictions, and claimed he inherited significant debt from his predecessor.

Since starting in the job, Morawskis has cancelled seven productions in the companys repertoire, blaming declining audience numbers, and actors moving to other theatres. He said Der Tod und das Mdchen is not currently being staged because of a lack of performers and the high cost of storing [scenery]. After failed negotiations, he has fired three actors, six administrative employees and the literary director, Piotr Rudzki. Other dismissal proceedings are ongoing. As a new director I have the right to shape my team in such a way as to cooperate with them, he said. Faced with such turmoil, a delayed run of Molires The Hypochondriac, originally billed as the first major production under Morawksis leadership, will premiere on 16 March.

As press interest across Europe has increased, pressure on Morawski has risen. A petition with almost 10,000 signatories was presented to regional government officials in late February. Local officials noted failings including Morawskis reduced repertoire, the departure of his staff and his delayed productions and began dismissal proceedings against him. But a spokesperson for the governments culture ministry highlighted in an email that Morawski has been in position for less than half a year and that removing a director in the course of the season will make a precedent for the functioning of the whole system of cultural institutions in Poland.

Those concerned about the theatres future now anxiously await the ministers recommendation. The conflict has polarised into two extremes a national Catholic culture and [those] who wish to defend the culture of independent art, said Lupa. My only hope is that the Polski Theatre gets back on track, after being derailed, and I can get back to work. If a standoff between regional and national politicians ensues, the theatres future though not its status as a political pawn will remain unclear.

Read more:
Culture wars in Poland: Teatr Polski actors revolt against new director - The Guardian

Decades ago Samuel Huntington penned a dismal, dystopian tome aboutthe future of conflict. He predicted a great cultural clash. How right he wasjust not in the way he thought.

Witness the rabid reaction to the revised travel ban issued this week by the Trump administration. It reflects not the battle between Islam and the West, but the West waging war with itself.

Huntington's thesis held that the fundamental source of conflict in this new world will not be primarily ideological or primarily economic. The great divisions among humankind and the dominating source of conflict will be cultural. In his Futureworld, Western modernity and the Islamic polity would endlessly clash.

Certainly, we have problems along these lines today. Look no further than Europe's unsettling efforts to accommodate immigrants and refugees from the Middle East. It's a deeply complex situation, one that reflects European economic malaise, the collapsing European welfare state and failed multiculturalism as much as the Islamist terrorist threat that thrives in the dark, damp clammy spaces in between.

Yet, arguably, Europe is experiencing more a case of cultural frictionrather than an outright clashbetween civilizations. For every fault line between the greater Islamic World and the West, there is a bridge of economic, military, political, culture and civil society holding the world together.

The bigger cultural war in the West is between Trump and his critics. On the one side is a new administration fiercely committed to tearing down the institutional constructs of progressivism and globalism. On the other, are those seeking to destroy the last remnants of nationalism. It's a battle that is not confined to America. Brexit was the first big offensive in a parallel conflict in Europe.That's not say there the United States and the rest of the West don't have serious problems with balancing patriotic assimilation and cultural diversity. This is an enduring challenge for free and open societies, and one that we must get right. But that's different than saying the West is at war with the rest of the world.

As this battle of ideas has escalated, so too has the rhetoric. Increasingly, both sides seek to demonize the other camp.

Indeed, a key tactic of the resistance against Trump is to accuse his administration of fomenting Huntington's dreaded clash of civilizations. Labeling Trump's policies as fascist and racist only douses smoldering differences with gasoline.

That's not a new rhetorical attack vector. The same tactics were used against Bush, most famously in the kerfuffle over the Patriot Act. Rather than have an honest debate over appropriate measures to combat terrorism in the post-9/11 world, Bush's opponents went postal.

The American Civil Liberties Union raised millions by mischaracterizing the act as a threat to Americans.Their website still admonishes: While most Americans think it was created to catch terrorists, the Patriot Act actually turns regular citizens into suspects. But the ACLU should realize that that culture war is over. The Patriot Act has been around for more than a decade and a half now, through Republican and Democratic administrations. Yet the Constitution is just fine, and there no concentration camps full of American citizens.

But old habits are hard to break. Since labeling Bush an anti-Muslim fascist seemed to workat least as a money-maker if not as a winning policy argumentdoing the same to Trump looks to be a no-brainer to the Left.

Arguably, Trump's opponents couldn't have picked a better target than his executive order pausing some refugee and other traffic into the United States. After all, all seven countries subject to the orders travel restrictions were majority Muslim. The administration was just getting its feet on the ground. Further, the White House did a poor job rolling the measure out, and it was unprepared for a swift and sweeping counterattack.

But that was over a month ago. Now, the White House is back with a sequel, issuing its revised and updated order yesterday. And opponents are as angry as everand using the same talking points. For example, theyre still characterizing the executive order 2.0 as anti-Muslim.

Yet the travel restrictions never were designed to be anti-Muslim. Rather, they were clearly intended to address a legitimate, emerging security threat: the likelihood that, after ISIS is defeated on the battlefields, its surviving foreign fighters will flow into these countries and from there try to make their way to the West. Their goal: to pull off terrorist attacks in the midst of the enemy to prove that transnational Islamist terrorism is still in the fight.

The revised order is built to address that threat. Moreover, it has been constructed in a way to make clear that it is not anti-Muslim. First, all of the original orders references to religious minorities have been removed, undercutting the argument that somehow the order was intended to disadvantage Muslim travelers at the expense of others.

In addition, the revised order removes a predominantly Muslim countryIraqfrom the ban. The reason for its removal is telling. After the first order was issued, the Iraqi government agreed to implement additional security measures that made terrorist travel from the country less likely. Since enhance security is the true purpose of both orders, this adjustment make perfect sense

A Department of Homeland Security official said of the revised order that there were no current plans to add any more countries, Muslim or otherwise. But he also said that, after the implementation phase, they would assess what steps to take next. That's the right answer. The global Islamist terrorist threat is dynamic. The U.S. response should be dynamic, determined not just to keep up withbut to stay ahead ofthe threat.

Meanwhile, in the West, the culture wars will doubtless continue. All we can ask is for more maturity from both sides to keep legitimate security measures out of the crossfire.

Visit link:
The Culture War Surrounding Trump's Travel Restrictions | The ... - Heritage.org

Look! Squirrel! Lawmakers tackle divisive social issues

Its become something of a tradition for the Mississippi Legislature which convenes Tuesday for its 2017 session to have at least one humdinger of a bill that gets the collective knickers of lawmakers and the commonwealth all in a twist and draws national attention of the What the heck? variety....

...Most such legislation is probably a bit of all of the above. And, it appears to be part of the legislative condition. One person's ridiculous or unneeded legislation is another's top priority.

Mississippis Legislature isnt alone in coming up with weird, divisive or socially or religiously charged proposals. We just seem to be better at it than most. And, given our history and the perception of us by others, we seem to get more national attention and criticism for it. "Saturday Night Live" once described Mississippis Legislature as 30 hissing possums in a barn in response to some bizarre pending legislation. PR like that is, again, priceless. Possum dolls still occasionally show up on the House or Senate floors....

...A couple of well-placed sources have told me that legislative, religious and other leaders have met and vowed to avoid such a barn burner this year, or as one put it, They said were not going to fight the culture wars this session.

Clarion Ledger 1/1/17

Posted January 2, 2017 - 11:06 am

See more here:
#msleg leaders seek to not fight the culture wars this session - Yall Politics

The park closed due to budget cuts in 2010, though it only had a $2,500 annual budget prior to that, and now sits mostly abandoned and entirely uncared for.

Officials held and questioned Muhammad Ali Jr. for nearly two hours, repeatedly asking him, Where did you get your name from? and Are you Muslim?'

The documents show that Pruitt, while Oklahoma attorney general, acted in close concert with oil and gas companies to challenge environmental regulations, even putting his letterhead to a complaint filed by one firm, Devon Energy.

Unfortunately, family planning is a political issue and science and data gets trumped by ideology.

I am not filled with confidence that Sessions or the department he oversees would view Newman and his cohorts as undesirable associates.

Facebooks contribution is worth more than $120,000, according to our sources. Half of that is cash, and the other half is in-kind support for CPACs operations.

At least two Army bases are suspending childcare programs, citing staff shortages related to the hiring freeze.

Falwell also wants to cut federal rules on investigating and reporting sexual assault under Title IX, the federal law that bars sexual discrimination in education.

You look at what Baylor was able to do during his tenure, it fits perfectly with where we see our sports programs going.

This report documents the very real human consequences of politicians like Trump, Orbn, Duterte, wielding a toxic agenda that hounds, scapegoats and dehumanizes entire groups of people.

There was a recent refugee-related attack in Sweden when Neo-Nazis from the Nordic Resistance Movement attacked a refugee centerin Gothenburg in January.

Wildersrecently described Moroccan immigrants as scum who make the streets of the Netherlands unsafe.

President Donald Trump told Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro that bomb threats at Jewish Community Centers may have been from the reverse to try to make others look bad.

The attack comes days after authorities say a Tampa mosque was intentionally set on fire, and nearly a week after 154 headstones at a Jewish cemetery in St. Louis were vandalized.

If youre 45 years old now, net illegal immigration stopped back when you were 35.

I heard things happening in that room happening to other people that made me ashamed to be human.

Frustrated by the failure of most Germans to participate in a boycott of Jewish businesses in April 1933, Adolf Hitlers government began publicizing Jewish crime statistics as a way of stoking anti-Semitism.

The most striking finding from our research is that for murder, robbery, burglary and larceny, as immigration increased, crime decreased, on average, in American metropolitan areas.

The only thing the elite Washington press corps likes more than a bipartisan commission on debt reduction is a stack of flag-draped coffins.

The utter lack of imagination here is staggering and somehow disappointing.

Read the rest here:
Postcards from the class & culture wars (3.2.17) - Patheos (blog)