Newspapers and Trump
Newspapers are seeing an uptick in subscriptions following the election of Donald Trump. The question that must be answered is whether, and to what extent, the print media will seek to be impartial in covering the administration in order to boost the bottom line.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-newspapers-trump-campaigns-analysis-idUSKBN15V0GI?utm_source=applenews&x_cw_context_provider=safari

Viewing Actions Through Intentions
An interesting op-ed appeared in the LA Times where Matt Welch argued that, “so far, when it comes to ICE deportations, the material difference between Trump and his immediate predecessors amounts to a statistical rounding error, albeit one measured in disrupted lives.” This raises the issue of viewing actions through the lens of intentions, which is an altogether tricky proposition.
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-welch-immigration-enforcement-obama-trump-20170216-story.html?x_cw_context_provider=safari

A Blow to Religious Liberty
The Washington State Supreme Court dealt a huge blow to religious liberty. Thursday it ruled that Barronelle Stutzman violated anti-discrimination laws when she refused to make flowers for a same-sex wedding. If allowed to stand, this ruling could be a major blow to business owners seeking to operate their businesses according to their religious convictions.
http://erlc.com/resource-library/articles/washington-supreme-court-rules-against-christian-florist-in-same-sex-marriage-case?x_cw_context_provider=safari

Embryo Adoption
The rise of Invitro Fertilization has led to the creation of hundreds of thousands of human beings, many of whom are frozen until their creators decide what to do with them. Unfortunately, many will never get the opportunity to develop beyond this stage. With such a challenge to human dignity, Christians have a wonderful opportunity to take a stand for the Gospel in embryo adoption.
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/what-christians-should-know-about-embryo-adoption?utm_campaign=tgcblog&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=feedburner&x_cw_context_provider=safari#When:2017-02-16T06:01:00+00:00

This Week In History
The Missouri Compromise was passed on February 17, 1820. As the issue of slavery tore at the fabric of the United States, the Senate looked for ways to continue expanding the number of states in the union without splitting it in two. “In exchange for admitting Missouri without restrictions on slavery, the Compromise called for bringing in Maine as a free state. The Compromise also dictated that slavery would be prohibited in all future western states carved out of the Louisiana Territory that were higher in latitude than the northern border of Arkansas Territory.” This compromise, while an attempt to appease all sides, kicked the issue down the road a few more years until tensions finally boiled over.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/senate-passes-missouri-compromise?x_cw_context_provider=safari