The Brew: Sanctuary, Christian Freedom Win, Phone Calls, and God Trending on Social Media

Happy Galentine’s Day!

The New CHAZ: Worcester, Mass.

In a bold move that underscores the growing divide on transgender issues across the nation, Worcester, Massachusetts, has declared itself a “sanctuary city” for transgender rights.

This decision comes in the middle of a national debate over President Donald Trump’s executive order Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation, signed on Jan. 27. Three states — Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington state — immediately sued the Trump administration, claiming this order is “unconstitutional.” And yesterday, city officials announced that Worcester will not cooperate with any state or federal inquiries aimed at denying “transgender” individuals their rights or access to “gender-affirming care.”

Perhaps the most telling part of Worcester becoming a “sanctuary city for transgender and gender-diverse people” is that the city council’s first openly nonbinary member, Thu Nguyen, just returned from a self-imposed month-long “hiatus” due to what he claimed was a “transphobic environment.”

Was it guilt that led the council to pass this resolution on a 9-2 vote?

Three Strikes, But Not Out

In another significant development in the How Can We Confuse Kids and Scar them for Life category, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly (D) has vetoed Senate Bill 63, which sought to ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors. This marks the third time Kelly has vetoed a bill protecting children from irreversible harm delivered through surgeries and puberty blockers; she prides herself for protecting “personal freedoms” and “parental rights” — but in her world, “parental rights” only extend to “consenting to let a confused child irreparably mutilate him- or herself.” (Otherwise, the parents are wrong.)

However, the Republican-controlled legislature is willing to buck. House Speaker Daniel Hawkins declared, “House Republicans stand ready to override her veto to protect vulnerable Kansas kids.”

Win for Christian Freedoms

In 2018, Kristie Higgs began discussing on social media her concerns about “gender fluidity” and same-sex marriage being taught at her son’s primary school in Gloucestershire in the United Kingdom. This led to her being fired from her job as a pastoral administrator at Farmor’s School, a Christian secondary school in Fairford, in 2019. Higgs contacted Christian Concern, a firm that protects religious freedom, and filed a lawsuit.

After six years, Higgs has won her case.

Yesterday, the Court of Appeal ruled that neither the content of Higgs’s posts nor the potential harm they have inflicted on the school where she worked justified her firing, especially since she hadn’t exhibited discriminatory behavior at work.

The ruling affirmed that the UK’s Equality Act protects Higgs’s beliefs on gender and marriage. After the judgment, Higgs said she hopes the ruling will be a landmark case for Christian freedoms and free speech.

Hear, hear!

The War on Waste

Yesterday, the U.S. House Oversight Subcommittee on DOGE, headed by Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and ranking member Melanie Stansbury (D-NM), held its first hearing yesterday. Predictions that it would be a “popcorn show” did not disappoint — something we note with utter dismay.

Representatives from both parties engaged in heated exchanges, but the real letdown was the lack of serious discussion about fiscal responsibility from Democrats who defended wasteful spending with zeal. For example, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) opened his comments with a snide remark about Greene, saying that last year, she had displayed a “d**k pic” at a congressional hearing. He then declared that he would do the same before quipping, “This, as we know, is President Elon Musk.”

That set the tone for the thrust of the meeting, which consisted mainly of Republicans talking about government waste and Democrats attacking Elon Musk. In fact, at one point, Rep. Brian Jack (R-GA) said, “I just took a rudimentary count of the Dems’ comments today, and I’ve got 27 mentions of Elon Musk and just three mentions of waste. … I think it illuminates and illustrates one of the problems we’re facing, which is a lack of a bipartisan effort to address these critical things. Waste, fraud, and abuse is something that should be bipartisan.”

It’s difficult to watch the professionals elected to represent the people not take government wasteful spending seriously. How does continuing to evoke Musk’s name or decry a “constitutional crisis” make for a good argument against the need to cut spending and balance the budget when interest payments on our national debt exceed the whole Defense Department’s budget? Indeed, when our country’s future is hanging in the balance? Congress, to which the Constitution has handed the purse strings, has a dismal record when it comes to financial prudence. Is it too much to hope for a serious hearing in which the American people can see what both Democrats and Republicans are — or rather, are not — doing to curb government waste? After all, these same officials demand transparency from Musk and DOGE while failing to apply the same standard to their own actions in spending.

“Can You Hear Me Now?”

Amid these domestic policy upheavals, Trump had a productive phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday. Their conversation focused on mutual concerns like Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as energy and artificial intelligence. This much-needed dialogue also focused on the “common sense” approach to ending Russia’s war with Ukraine and the need to begin negotiations soon.

Trump took the time to thank Putin for his time and effort in the release of Marc Fogel, a teacher detained in Russia for over three years, after Sheremetyevo Airport officials found a small amount of medical marijuana in his luggage. Fogel’s release is a win for Trump, who promised Fogel’s mother, Malphine, during his campaign that he would bring him home.

Shortly after ending the call with Putin, Trump called Ukraine President Volodomir Zelenskyy to discuss peace, and booked a meeting for this Friday in Munich, Germany, where Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will lead a delegation that we hope will broker a deal ending the death and destruction in the war between the two countries. It’s clear Trump will continue to assert strong leadership in international affairs, causing fear among those who might wish to undermine U.S. interests.

In response to these developments and the ongoing political battles, we echo the calls to pray for the country’s protection.

Read Trump’s Truth Social post about his call with President Putin here and his Truth Social post about his call with President Zelenskyy here.

Trending God

While it’s sometimes hard to see God’s hand moving in our affairs, this year’s Super Bowl provided a refreshing window into heavenly events. In case you missed it, the Philadelphia Eagles took home the win, but God was trending on socials.

https://twitter.com/AprilSpark1890/status/1888968956276310078

The players’ actions are a reminder of faith’s role in personal success and the importance of acknowledging God’s glory. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to see these acknowledgments become a daily trend rather than a one-off event?

Along The Stream…

Later this morning, in a thought-provoking hour-long conversation with podcaster Christopher Cook, Bethel Church worship leader Jenn Johnson discusses the fact that worship is not the songs we sing on a weekend, but everything a believer does. We express worship by the way we live. Rather than “me, myself, and I,” the songs we do sing in church should redirect our focus from life’s troubles to acknowledging God.

Up at noon, frequent contributor Jules Gomes brings us some more breaking news from the Vatican in “Pope Francis Skews Scripture and History to Attack Trump’s Deportations of Illegal Aliens.”

Gayle McQueary is The Stream’s social media coordinator. She has a background in production and is a scary judge of people who harm kids.