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Federal Judge: Parents Have No Right To Ex-Gay Therapy For Their Kids

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A federal judge has ruled that banning so-called “ex-gay” therapy for minors does not violate the First Amendment rights of parents or their children.

Last year New Jersey banned the practice of so-called “reparative,” “gay conversion,” or “ex-gay” therapies for use on minors. One family sued in federal court, arguing the ban violated their First Amendment rights of free speech and the practice of religion. At the time, NOM co-founder Maggie Gallagher claimed the ban “strips religious people of equal rights.”

U.S. District Judge Freda Wolfson on Thursday disagreed.

Court documents state that “Tara King Ed.D. and Ronald Newman, Ph.D., who are licensed therapists, as well as the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (“NARTH”) and the American Association of Christian Counselors (“AACC”),” filed the lawsuit in conjunction with the parents, named only as John and Jane Doe.

LOOK: Nine Leaders Of Ex-Gay Movement: ‘Conversion Therapy Harms People’

“Parents Jane and Jack Doe and their son, John, 15, later sued Christie with the help of the same lawyers last fall, alleging the law may cause their son to ‘regress’ into homosexuality,” Courthouse News Service reports.

The parents say they noticed John began to play with female dolls and toys when he was 5, and was “particularly obsessed” with Ariel, The Little Mermaid, much to his father’s dismay.

Indeed, John’s mother frequently fought with her husband for “criticizing [their son] for exhibiting female characteristics, expressions, and mannerisms,” according to the complaint.

John “remembers having a bias against the male gender and thinking that boys were stupid because his mother talked negatively about his father,” the plaintiffs claim.

The child also tried “to dress up in princess clothes” when he was 10, and he later began secretly shaving his armpits and pubic hair to appear more feminine, the complaint states.

When John began to feel sexually attracted to men and suicidal around the age of 12, his parents contacted NARTH and were referred to a licensed SOCE specialist, the lawsuit says.

Since then, John’s same-sex attractions have dropped from 8 out of 10 to 3 out of 10, and he no longer has suicidal thoughts or tries to sound like a girl, the Does say.

LGBT rights organization Garden State Equality successfully joined the suit as a defendant.

Judge Wolfson ruled that the New Jersey law does not violate free speech rights because it “does not regulate speech, directly or indirectly, but rather only regulates a mental health procedure performed by licensed counselors or therapists.”

She also called ex-gay therapy “pseudo-science.”

“Surely it is undisputed that a state has the power to regulate not only medical and mental health treatments deemed harmful, but also those that are ineffective or that are based not on medical or scientific principles but, instead, on pseudo-science.”

Noting that “the state has a compelling interest in protecting children, and has broad authority to do so,” Wolfson wrote that “the Ninth Circuit—in one of the few decisions that speaks directly to this issue—has concluded that ‘the fundamental rights of parents do not include the right to choose a specific type of provider for a specific medical or mental health treatment that the state has reasonably deemed harmful.'”

The judge concluded that “the fundamental rights of parents do not include the right to choose a specific medical or mental health treatment that the state has reasonably deemed harmful or ineffective. To find otherwise would create unimaginable and unintentional consequences.”

 

Image by Daniel Gonzales via Flickr

 

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News

At Faith-Based Event Trump Courts Religious CEOs, Uses Expletive, Calls Dems ‘Evil’

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July 14, 2025

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During a White House Faith Office event focused on renewing America “spiritually and financially,” President Donald Trump lashed out at “evil” Democrats and used an expletive while venting about his indictments and impeachments.

The meeting was attended by about 60 CEOs and business leaders who have donated to faith-based causes, in an attempt to persuade them to invest in the White House Faith Office, according to Fox News.

“White House Faith Office senior advisor Pastor Paula White, Faith Director Jenny Korn, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler will attend the event and also deliver remarks,” Fox News also reported.

READ MORE: ‘Dumb-Dumb’: Fox News Host Declares Rising Democrat a ‘Mental Deficient’ Amid Senate Buzz

Trump was “expected to explain why the White House Faith Office is so important to his agenda,” and “encourage business leaders to help the Trump administration, specifically on programs concerning foster care and adoption, fatherhood initiatives, poverty alleviation, substance abuse and prisoner reentry.”

But the President also explained (video below) “one thing” about Democrats: “they have bad policy, they’re evil people in many ways, but they stick together,” he claimed.

Trump warned that if Republicans don’t stand together “and make the economy strong…you’re gonna literally have perhaps a depression, where you people so rich, so beautiful, so nice to look at, will be totally busted. And let’s see how long your wife stays with you, your beautiful — she’ll stay with you for about three weeks and she’ll say, ‘Darling, I can’t take you anymore. I can’t take it anymore, darling, I’m leaving you’.”

The President also denounced his indictments and impeachments.

“Indicted five times, impeached two times, all b——-, right?” he told the group. “Oh, terrible stuff, and I got impeached for making a perfect phone call.”

READ MORE: ‘Like Taking a Knife to a Gunfight’: Trump’s Russia Tariffs of ‘About 100%’ Mocked

Trump also claimed that he is “getting rid of” the Johnson Amendment, a 1954 provision in the tax code that bans  certain non-profits, including groups like churches, from endorsing political candidates. It has never been fully enforced, and no church has ever lost its tax-exempt status solely for violations of that law.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation denounced the meeting’s agenda.

“Trump is again blurring the line between church and state,” FFRF wrote. “A president shouldn’t be rewarding CEOs for promoting religion or using public office to advance a ‘faith-centered’ agenda. Government must serve all Americans — not just the religious.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Absolute Cringe’: DHS Ridiculed After Attacking CNN Report—by Confirming It

 

 

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‘Like Taking a Knife to a Gunfight’: Trump’s Russia Tariffs of ‘About 100%’ Mocked

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3 hours ago

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July 14, 2025

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For the past few days, President Donald Trump and his allies have been teasing what was billed as a major announcement about Russia. On Monday, the President issued a warning to President Vladimir Putin: sign a cease-fire agreement within 50 days with Ukraine or face tariffs of “about 100%” on Russian goods imported into the United States.

“I am very disappointed with President Putin,” Trump said on Sunday. “I thought he was somebody that meant what he said. And he’ll talk so beautifully and then he’ll bomb people at night. We don’t like that.”

“I’m disappointed in President Putin because I thought we would have had a deal two months ago,” Trump declared on Monday from the Oval Office, continuing what has been a rare distancing from the Russian dictator. But in announcing his secondary tariffs of about 100%, Trump added, “I hope we don’t have to do it.”

Trump called the tariffs “major” and “very severe,” while telling reporters that he speaks to Putin “a lot.”

READ MORE: ‘Dumb-Dumb’: Fox News Host Declares Rising Democrat a ‘Mental Deficient’ Amid Senate Buzz

He also defended giving Russia 50 days notice by saying, “I think it’s a very short period of time,” and, “I’ve just really been involved in this not very long. It wasn’t an initial focus. This is a Biden war. This is a Democrat war.”

Critics disagree.

Some observers are noting that Trump ran for re-election last year on the promise he would end Russia’s war against Ukraine in one day. Some also note that 50 days gives Putin a lot of time to inflict further damage on Ukraine, although Trump also announced he is authorizing Patriot missiles to go to Ukraine.

Technologist, historian, and researcher Dave Troy, who has written extensively on Russia, noted: “Trump’s announcement on Russia/Ukraine is not significant. 1) we’re not paying for weapons, we are selling them to NATO, 2) secondary 100% tariffs isolate the US from Russia sphere of influence, a strategic goal for Putin, 3) 50 day window provides pretext for attack escalation.”

Former Obama National Security Council official Tommy Vietor wrote: “I’m glad that Trump finally figured out that Putin is a liar who can’t be trusted & has chosen to support Ukraine, but: 1) he ran on ending this war in 24 hours and failed, 2) he said sending weapons to Ukraine would lead to World War 3, but now is doing exactly what Biden did.”

Last year, the U.S. imported only $3 billion from Russia, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative.

READ MORE: GOP Senator Denounces Anti-ICE Democrats as ‘Pawns’ of an ‘Anarchist Agenda’

“Congress has been waiting on Trump’s green light for a bipartisan bill that would slap 500% tariffs on any country doing business with Russia,” reported Fox News senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich. Later, she added that Trump appears supportive of the legislation, although he said, “I’m not sure we need it, but it’s certainly good that they’re doing it.”

“Trump’s big reveal on Russia,” observed journalist Marcy Wheeler, “is to give Putin more time than he is giving America’s nominal allies to do what he demands, 50 days instead of 20.”

Daily Beast columnist and creator of the Russian Media Monitor, Julia Davis, wrote: “Seems like this ‘major announcement’ was teased ad nauseam solely to distract from the Epstein fallout. We already knew about selling Patriots to Europe. Trump is giving Putin 50 more days to bomb Ukrainians before he considers doing anything about it.”

Rina Shah, a Senior Fellow at the Rainey Center for Public Policy, wrote: “Threatening tariffs on Russia to try to settle its 3+ year war on Ukraine? This is like taking a knife to a gunfight.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Absolute Cringe’: DHS Ridiculed After Attacking CNN Report—by Confirming It

 

This article was updated to include the quote from Julia Davis

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Trump Official: Never Mind Rising Costs, President’s ‘Leadership’ Is Making Prices Drop

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5 hours ago

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July 14, 2025

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Prices across a wide range of sectors have been rising, and economists expect once President Donald Trump’s tariffs fully go into effect the increase may be substantial, but according to one top Trump official prices are dropping. He credits “patriotism” and the President’s “leadership.”

“Economists, researchers and analysts have warned that President Donald Trump’s sweeping trade policy of tacking steep tariffs on most goods that come into America will deliver a taxing blow to consumers via higher prices,” CNN reported last week, while noting that “recent months’ economic data has shown that overall inflation has remained fairly tame.”

The price of gas for example, may be down by 11.9% (yet nowhere near as low as what President Trump claims), but electricity and natural gas costs are up.

READ MORE: ‘Dumb-Dumb’: Fox News Host Declares Rising Democrat a ‘Mental Deficient’ Amid Senate Buzz

Through the end of May, food prices are up 2.9%, meats, poultry, fish, and eggs are up overall 6.1%, electricity is up 4.5%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Also, rents are up 3.8%, and auto insurance is up 7%.

Bottom line, inflation is currently at 2.4%. The new report is due to be out on Tuesday, and expected to show significant price increases. One prediction shows inflation is expected to jump to 2.7% in the upcoming report.

White House Director of the National Economic Council (NEC), Kevin Hassett, offered a different take.

On CNBC on Monday (video below), Hassett pointed to what he says is a report from the Council of Economic Advisers “that showed that import prices into the U.S are dropping, actually dropping during all this.”

He points to what he calls President Donald Trump’s “leadership” for the decrease in at least some prices.

Hassett says his “theory” as “an economist of why that is, is that Americans, because of President Trump’s leadership, have recognized that when they buy an American product, they not only get perhaps a better product, certainly a better product, most of the time, but they’re also making their community stronger.”

READ MORE: GOP Senator Denounces Anti-ICE Democrats as ‘Pawns’ of an ‘Anarchist Agenda’

“And so there’s, I think a lot of patriotism in the data,” Hassett insisted.

“The bottom line is people prefer American products, and so therefore, the demand for imports has gone way down, down so much that even with what tariffs have been there, where people would say, ‘oh, they might increase prices at least a little bit,’ we’ve seen prices going down,” he claimed.

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Absolute Cringe’: DHS Ridiculed After Attacking CNN Report—by Confirming It

 

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