Shield the children
Scholastic, the book company that for years has offered a wide variety of children's books, is out with two recent reads on President Trump, one for grades 1 and 2 and one for grades 3 through 5.
They are no different than what the company does for most presidents. A similar book for the last president, for example, was "Yes We Can! A Salute to Children from President Obama's Victory Speech." Others have described Presidents Thomas Jefferson and John F. Kennedy.
But left-wing organization Think Progress believes the Trump books are "pro-Trump propaganda" and wants them to be removed from potential selection.
StepUp Scholastic, meanwhile, says it wants the company to distribute books that "affirm the identity, history, and lives of ALL children in our schools."
The books, for young elementary readers, already contain phrases such as "he became the first U.S. president who never before held a political office or served in the military," and tells readers "they will also get to know his family and find out why his presidential campaign has been a source of controversy."
Yet, the Obama book does not mention the many scandals during his administration, nor do the Jefferson and Kennedy books touch on their promiscuity.
To date, despite stepped up liberal pressure, Scholastic has not removed the books. Nor should it.
Just across the border ...
A Canadian family court recently ruled that three people in a polyamorous relationship are the recognized parents of a child born last year.
If our neighbors to the north are doing it, liberals in the United States are likely to push for the same thing to become law in this country.
In this case, a woman and two men are in the relationship, according to the Financial Post. But because their relationship "has been a stable one and has been ongoing since June 2015," Justice Robert Fowler of the Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court (Family Division) said OK.
The woman is the mother of the child, but the father of the child is unknown, the paper reported. None of the three is married.
Although the country's Vital Statistics Act allows only two parents on the child's birth certificate, which caused the Newfoundland Ministry of Service to refuse the three as the child's parents, polyamorous relationships are not illegal in Canada.
"I can find nothing to disparage that relationship from the best interests of the child's point of view ," the judge wrote. "To deny this child the dual paternal parentage would not be in his best interests."
How many persons can be in a Canadian polyamorous relationship, and whether it could include animals and inanimate objects, was not clear from the judge's ruling.
Senility?
CNN political commentator Van Jones, trying to give former President Bill Clinton a mulligan over his recent comments about the numerous accusations of sexual harassment made against him over the years, said that "you can tell his heart's in the right place."
Show host Chris Cuomo remarked that the former president "keeps digging himself into a deeper hole" and wondered if the Democratic Party needs to move on from the Clintons.
"I think that he was trying to - I think the hard thing for Bill Clinton is that he has always been the gold standard in communication - in being able to connect with people - to thread these needles - to bring people together," Jones said. "And there's something missing now in that ability of his. And so, if you listen to [his comments in context], you can tell his heart's in the right place."
Jones, himself, kept digging.
"He's really trying to make the case, but the word choice is just not proper," he said. "And so I hate to see the guy get beat up, but he just could be at that stage of his aging process where maybe he just can't be as precise as we need him to be, and I think his heart was in the right place on that one."
For your next parlor game, trot out the phrase "his heart's in the right place" about President Trump, and see what develops.
Not on target
Target, the retailer being boycotted by the American Family Association for allowing transgender customers to use the restroom that fits their gender choice, has apologized for offering an American Greetings Father's Day card that could be given to "Baby Daddies."
The retailer pulled the cards after black shoppers complained the company was celebrating absentee fathers in the black community.
"We want all guests to feel welcomed and respected when they shop at Target," company spokesman Joshua Thomas said in a statement published by USA Today. "We were made aware of some concerns about this card last week and are working with our vendor to have it removed from Target stores. We appreciate the feedback and apologize. It's never our intent to offend any of our guests with the products we sell."
American Greetings, in a statement, said the card was meant to be given to "a loving husband - which the inside copy makes clear."
"However, we now see that the front page, taken out of context, can communicate an unintentional meaning that we are strongly against perpetuating and is not consistent with our company purpose and values," it went on. "We should do better in the future, and we will. We have notified our store merchandisers to remove the card from the shelves and apologize for any offense we've caused."
The card had been in some 900 stores.