Happy Wednesday!

Today’s Brew is served with bit of “In Which God Do They Trust?”

Christian Arrested in Reading, Pa., for Quoting Scripture During Pride Rally

Damon Atkins showed up at Reading, Pennsylvania’s first ever “Pride” rally Saturday, carrying a sign saying, “Jesus Said Go and Sin No More.” It took him less than 60 seconds … and part of a Bible verse … to get arrested and cuffed.

A man named Matthew Ware captured the incident on video. He tells the Lancaster Patriot he had come across the Pride rally by accident and had started preaching, but had been forced to stop by the same officer who would bust Atkins.

On the video, you can see the officer having a brief conversation with Atkins. Atkins reminds him its public property. The officer says something to the effect of “let them have their event” and “respect them.” Atkins responds that he is respecting the people. “You know who’s cheering for us — the people that are in hell.” (A reference to the parable where a rich man begs Father Abraham to let him warn his brother about the torment.)

The officer steps away. Atkins begins to recite 1 Corinthians 14:33, “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.” He barely gets his mouth open before the officer charges at him and arrests him.

According to the arrest affidavit, Atkins “resumed yelling derogatory comments to the people at the event.”

The only words he had said loudly were “God is not the — .” Which means …

“Now in this country, ‘God’ is a derogatory term,” Atkins told The Lancaster Patriot. “That makes me sick to my stomach.”

Atkins was charged with “Disorderly Conduct Engaged With Fighting.”

As he was being pushed up against a brick wall by three officers, Atkins is heard to say, “I can’t believe this is in Reading. I can’t believe this is in Reading.”

I can’t believe this is in America.

Target Threated by 200 LGBTQ Groups. Put Back the Tuck-Friendly Merchandise, Or Else

Some 200 LGBTQ groups, upset that Target decided to move their “Pride” and trans-themed merchandise, have banded together to threaten the retailer. Restock all your Pride merchandise and issue a statement “reaffirming their commitment to the LGBTQ+ community” within 24 hours or else.

“When it comes to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion, there is no such thing as neutrality,” the LGTBQ coalition said. (Translation: There’s no such thing as tolerance.)

Target has lost about $13 billion in market value after pushing “tuck-friendly” women’s bathing suits for transgender people and Pride apparel for children and infants in the front of their stores. After the tremendous backlash, Target moved some of the merchandise and in some communities removed the merchandise all together.

What’s Target going to do? Cave like the Dodgers? Or refuse to bow to ultimatums?

NBA Star Starts Own Line of Christian and Conservative Clothing

Meanwhile, kudos to NBA star Jonathan Isaac of the Orlando Magic. He’s not whining about woke merchandise, he’s starting his own line of anti-woke apparel that’ll promote Christian and conservative values.

Said Isaak:

You have companies that are in that field who have made a conscious decision to either attack or undermine Christian values, conservative values, and things like that. And I think they have the free choice to do so, as much as I disagree, but I feel that we also have the freedom to create what we want to create.

Expect his UNITUS Brand to launch in August.

CORRECTION!

Citing the Idaho Tribune, we mentioned yesterday that Travis Lohr had a job offer rescinded by the Idaho Department of Lands. That was in error. We’ve been contacted by Scott Phillips of the Idaho Department of Lands. He tell us that Travis did not apply to the Idaho Department of Lands. It was the U.S. Forest Service. His note says in part:

Your story incorrectly says that Travis Lohr had a job offer from the Idaho Department of Lands that was rescinded. This is not true. Travis Lohr has NEVER applied to work at the Idaho Department of Lands using our online seasonal employment app. Also, John Heyn, the individual who rescinded the offer, DOES NOT work for the Idaho Department of Lands.

Your source for this story, IdahoTribune.org, initially published inaccurate information, but has since corrected their article.

Media coverage elsewhere correctly notes that Travis was offered a job by the U.S. Forest Service. Idaho Department of Lands is NOT the U.S. Forest Service.

We thank Mr. Phillips for reaching out and apologize to the Idaho Dept. of Lands for the error. And U.S. Forest Service? Tsk-tsk.

PGA and LIV Announce Surprise Merger … But It Wasn’t a Surprise to Trump

It isn’t quite like peace between Arabs and Israel … but after the hostilities of the last two years, it sure feels close.

In a stunning, surprise move, the PGA and upstart rival LIV announced Tuesday they are merging. Such a surprise. ESPN reports the deal was reached “without the knowledge of many PGA Tour members and LIV Golf players and agents.”

“After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love,” said PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan in a statement:

Going forward, fans can be confident that we will, collectively, deliver on the promise we’ve always made — to promote competition of the best in professional golf and that we are committed to securing and driving the game’s future.

Golfing great Phil Mickelson, who led the charge in drawing players from the PGA to the Saudi-backed LIV, is all for the new deal.

Awesome day today 😊 https://t.co/qUwVJiydym

— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) June 6, 2023

Though details are still to be worked, LIV’s “team golf” concept will be incorporated.

Actually, the merger didn’t come as a surprise to everyone. Noted golf course owner Donald Trump called it in July last year.

Tuesday he called the merger “A BIG, BEAUTIFUL, AND GLAMOROUS DEAL FOR THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF GOLF.” He must mean it. It’s in all caps. Golf Digest tipped its hat to Trump, however begrudgingly, for having called it. “Trump was right, as much as it might pain you to admit it.”

If PGA and LIV can settle their feud, there’s hope for you and your crazy liberal Aunt Edna.

Mike Pence Joins Race Today

Mike Pence is getting a presidential race for his birthday. The former VP turns 64 today, and with it will come his official announcement that he’s running in the GOP primary. This means the high drama of Pence running against his old boss Donald Trump.

Pence in the race is both a blessing and a curse to front-runner Trump. First, it further divides the “Not Trump” vote. Second, it’s in Pence’s interest to offer a full-throated defense of the Trump administration policies, in particular on the COVID crisis. Third, he’ll be better at that defense than Trump.

However, on the flipside, Pence’s presence on the debate stage almost guarantees January 6 and the election challenges will be a hot topic. That doesn’t help anybody. How will Trump respond when an earnest Pence, on live TV, says, “Your words and actions on January 6 helped put my life and the life of my family in danger. I forgive you, but it’s simply a fact.”

Pence joins a crowded field that includes … well, who isn’t running? Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie joined the Tuesday race as well. Thus far, neither Pence nor Christie is making much of a dent in the polling.

Meanwhile, on the Democratic side, RFK Jr. continues to poll surprisingly well against Joe Biden. He’s at 13% and on the rise. Kennedy’s rise and yesterday’s anniversary of his father’s assassination got Peter Wolfgang thinking about RFK and JFK and the eternal question “What If … “ Check out the fascinating “Bobby Kennedy and What Might Have Been.”

Tucker Carlson Returns With First Tucker on Twitter Episode

Tucker Carlson released the debut episode of his new show Tucker on Twitter. The nearly 11-minute segment covered everything from the Soviet-built Kakhovka Dam blown up in Ukraine to an Air Force whistleblower revealing the military has crashed UFOs in hand.

Ep. 1 pic.twitter.com/O7CdPjF830

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) June 6, 2023

The video dropped at 6 p.m. Eastern. By 6:30, it had 1.2 million views.

 

Al Perrotta is the Managing Editor of The Stream, chief barista for The Brew and co-author, with John Zmirak, of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration. You can follow him at @StreamingAl at GETTR, Gab, Parler, and now at TRUTH Social.