A clip of CNN’s Dana Bash interviewing former Vice President Mike Pence is making the rounds. Watch it. It embodies just about everything that failed in the last generation of conservative politics.

First, Pence is in Ukraine. As if he weren’t irrelevant enough already.

Almost anything has to be better than whatever the heck this is.

Second, his “nicer than Jesus” desire for affirmation from Bash and the trans activists is nothing short of a confession: When he was in power and had an opportunity to confront the gender-bending madness poisoning our children, he chose instead to accommodate it with his signature brand of self-important piety.

Third, his thanking Bash because “we’ve been friends for a long time” is like tipping your cap to Tokyo Rose. That’s not a flex. It’s a cry for help.

Fourth, you know who else thinks quoting “do unto others” from Scripture means affirming people in their sin? James Talarico, that’s who.

So if you want to know why young men are reading about Franco fighting the communists in the Spanish Civil War as bedtime stories, it’s because the way of life and cost of living previous generations enjoyed are no longer available to them — because the Mike Pences of the world sold them out with a “conservatism” made for the bedroom eyes of CNN and nowhere else.

Or maybe Pence is working for the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce now and has some wives and jobs lined up over there for America’s angry young men. What a guy.

Virtually every political primary I’ve gotten involved in — or chosen not to get involved in — over the last 20 years has come down to the same thing: trying to stop another era of what Mike Pence fecklessly represents “in the name of the Lord.” When Jesus offered difficult teachings and people walked away from Him or even picked up stones, He did not stop and plead for “common decency” the way Pence did with Bash.

There is no accommodation to be made with evil. Which is why, in the face of rejection, Jesus simply turned to His disciples and asked whether they were going to leave Him too.

RELATED: Christian retreat is becoming political defeat

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That is the firm moral foundation that built Western civilization. Pence’s version is how civilizations die. His so-called desire for decency is a suicide pact we are depositing into our children’s cultural 401(k). I mean, what the hell is that guy even doing in Ukraine?

There’s a great scene in “Young Washington” where a British general looks at the future founding father and says, “This isn’t my home.” Washington replies: “See, that’s the difference between you and me. It’s mine.”

Which raises the question: What is Mike Pence’s home? I mean, really? Whom does he serve? What is his bottom line? I fear there are no good answers.

His concern for “common decency” is a con. What, after all, is decent about a Savior beaten and tortured beyond recognition, then paraded through the streets carrying the cross on which He will die for sins not His own? And if that cross — and its defeat in the Resurrection — is the essence of our faith, how can Pence’s perpetual-kindness doctrine be anything but a distraction from true faith at best and a blaspheming of it at worst?

RELATED: The right has a blind spot about young women

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So is there any point to highlighting the choice of revival or bust, as I often do on my show, if Pence remains the poster child for so much of our Christian leadership — in the church and in politics? Because with him, no such choice actually exists. It’s just bust. Guaranteed. Perhaps intentionally. Too many bright, shiny idols to resist, I guess.

Too harsh? Go watch that Pence video again. He sounded like Dana Bash had given him one of the best days of his life by offering him a forum to affirm obvious sin in the name of being nice above all. That is a very big problem, and I’m not sure where we go from here until that impulse is excommunicated from us as a people.

Let’s start here: Maybe the Boomer and Gen X crowd of men can put down the shovel and start acting under the banner of biblical headship again before younger generations of men declare war on absolutely everything — because almost anything has to be better than whatever the heck this is.

​Mike pence, Ukraine, Cnn, Dana bash, Christians, Young men, Conservatism, Boomers, Gen x, Opinion & analysis 

What does it look like when an ideology that has long insulated itself from criticism suddenly has to defend its premises in public? We may be watching that happen in the WNBA.

For years, critics of transgender ideology have often been dismissed as hateful rather than answered. But slogans become harder to maintain when they collide with an institution whose very existence depends on distinguishing women from men.

The deeper problem is the familiar one: Believing something does not make it so. Reality pushes back.

Enter Enes Kanter Freedom.

At Sunday’s Chicago Sky-Indiana Fever game, Freedom cheered after Fever guard Sophie Cunningham hit a three-pointer. A couple of possessions later, Sky guard Natasha Cloud yelled toward him, “She’s not going to sleep with you.” According to Freedom, Cloud then cursed at him. Video showed the two exchanging words before Freedom stepped toward the floor and security escorted him from the arena.

Freedom was wearing a shirt that defined “woman” as “adult human female.” He believes the shirt helped provoke the confrontation. In any case, the incident exposed the contradiction at the center of the debate.

After the game, Cloud posted: “To every trans kid/person, You are apart of MY community & tribe. You belong. You’re loved. You’re seen. You’re perfect as you are. & you will always be protected by me.”

That is a humane sentiment. But protection is not the same thing as agreement, and compassion does not settle the underlying question: What is a woman?

Freedom’s shirt gives the correct biological answer. That answer is not incidental to the WNBA. The “W” exists because female athletes are physically distinct enough from male athletes that women have their own competitive league. Saying so 20 years ago would have been unremarkable.

The modern dispute is not merely about how people dress, live, or describe themselves. It is about whether a person’s stated gender identity can override biological sex in language, law, medicine, and athletics. Critics are frequently told that refusing to affirm such claims causes grave harm. Some activists go further and describe restrictions on transgender policies as “genocidal.”

That rhetorical trick does real work. If disagreement is violence, then argument itself becomes suspect. The critic no longer has to be answered; he can simply be condemned.

But the WNBA makes that escape difficult. A women’s basketball league cannot avoid asking what qualifies someone to play in the women’s league.

RELATED: Former congressman sends warning to WNBA over blocking male player: Get ready for court

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That’s why Freedom and former NBA player Royce White have been able to make their point through satire. If self-identification alone determines sex for purposes of women’s athletics, why could a male player not simply declare himself a woman and demand eligibility? The predictable answer is that he would not be sincere. But sincerity is not a biological category, and the objection quietly concedes that some external standard remains essential.

The deeper problem is the familiar one: Believing something does not make it so. Reality pushes back.

If I walk into a bank and announce that I identify as a billionaire, the teller will still check my account balance. My conviction may be sincere. It does not create a billion dollars.

Of course, sex and wealth are not identical categories. The analogy has a narrower purpose: Subjective conviction cannot, by itself, determine every fact about the world.

The cultural argument over sex became combustible because it moved beyond the old libertarian bargain — adults may live as they choose — and began demanding public affirmation, institutional accommodation, and changes to categories built around biological sex.

RELATED: Sophie Cunningham supporters speak out: WNBA is just passing the blame

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For Christians, there is an even deeper dispute about what a human being is and whether the body is something received or something the will may redefine. I have argued elsewhere that the conflict ultimately reaches Christian anthropology.

But one need not settle that theological question to see the WNBA’s problem. A league created for women must know what a woman is.

The controversy surrounding Freedom is no mere spectacle. The issue is no longer confined to university seminars or activist language. It has arrived courtside, where a definition printed on a T-shirt can become more controversial than a player shouting at a fan.

Ideologies protected from criticism often appear strongest just before ordinary people begin noticing the absurdities and contradictions. Once the questions can be asked publicly, slogans are no longer enough.

The WNBA is discovering that in real time.

​Wnba transgender debate, Women’s sports, Wnba, Sophie cunningham, Enes kanter freedom, Transgender, Indiana fever, Opinion & analysis 

Most consumers assume that beef is one of the simplest foods on their plate. But what happens before cattle reach the dinner table might be more complex — and worse than you think.

“Even with seemingly healthy foods, they actually can be tainted in a way that could have severe health impacts on us. Like say, take beef,” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales says.

“Beef is good for you,” she continues, “But then you start thinking about cows and all the hormones that get pumped into the cows that then get passed onto us when we eat beef.”

“And apparently these hormones are having such an adverse effect on these cows that I mean, I guess you could say it in a way that it’s turning some of them trans,” she adds.

In a study from West Texas A&M University, just over 20,000 finished cattle originating from 33 feed lots were examined. Among native steers, 14.55% were lactating. Among dairy cross steers, 19.66% were lactating.

And while those doing the research don’t agree with her, regenerative farmer Mollie Englehart believes that this may have to do with the hormones being pumped into the cows.

“I first need to say that the researchers do not agree with my theory,” she tells Gonzales, explaining that Dr. Ty Lawrence, who oversaw the study, believes that it’s “that basically the cattle are just so fat that … the fat itself is becoming an estrogen-producing organ and then signaling the pituitary gland, and there’s a cascade that makes the males lactate.”

However, it is explained in the Merck Veterinary Manual that estradiol, which Englehart says is the “first ingredient in most of these hormone implants that they put in cows’ ears,” has a list of adverse events that involve teat development in both heifers and steers.

“In the ’80s, we tried to decide if we could possibly not have dairy cows have babies and just make milk. And estradiol was used in that study to induce lactation,” she says.

Englehart also points to a claim a British university made previously that transgender women’s milk is just as nutritious as a woman’s milk. They also used estradiol to induce lactation in those men who wanted to breastfeed children.

“So estradiol is a common thing across the whole spectrum,” she adds.

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​Hormone implants, Estradiol, Transgender, Breastfeeding, Lactating, Steers, Sara gonzales, Beef, Blazetv show 

South Carolina voters decided to support the incumbent backed by President Donald Trump in the Republican Senate primary runoff election Tuesday.

After longtime Sen. Lindsey Graham died unexpectedly in July, the president enthusiastically supported Republican Gov. Henry McMaster appointing Graham’s sister, Darline Graham, to finish out the term.

President Trump celebrated Graham’s win on Truth Social.

On Tuesday, Sen. Darline Graham ran in the runoff against 73-year-old Rep. Ralph Norman, a real estate developer and congressman since 2017. With about 91% of expected votes counted, Graham comfortably defeated Norman, 52.4% to 47.6%.

President Trump celebrated Graham’s win on Truth Social.

Polling showed that Norman and Graham were neck-and-neck going into the election despite Trump endorsing Graham.

Her campaign also hit a stumbling block when Graham was asked about a foreign policy point during a debate, and she admitted she was not knowledgeable about the subject.

“I’m not a polished politician,” Graham said at the time. “National security is not my thing, not my area of expertise, but I do support the military.”

She was ridiculed by her detractors but defended her comments in an appearance with Sean Hannity.

Sen. Graham will face Democrat Annie Andrews, a physician, in November

RELATED: Lindsey Graham’s sister appointed to serve out the rest of his term in the Senate

Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

Trump’s MAGA Inc. super PAC spent more than $827,000 to support Graham in the runoff.

The president had praised Lindsey Graham greatly after his passing.

“Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, is dead!” Trump wrote in a post on social media. “He was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed!!!”

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​Darline graham, South carolina, Us senate election, Politics, Donald trump, Ralph norman 

Detroit police were trying to determine why a mother and her child were found dead inside their home Thursday when the case got far worse the next day.

Residents of the neighborhood called police after noticing a foul smell in the area for about a week and realizing it was coming from one home.

Investigators said the death of the 50-year-old mother and the 14-year-old boy might be a murder-suicide.

When police went at about 9:30 p.m. to check on the residents of the house on Stoepel Street, they found a dead woman and boy inside.

Police said that they contacted the family of the mother and boy and discovered that they had not seen the father of the boy in some time.

“On Friday, after speaking with the family, we learned the woman’s husband had not been seen or heard from in years,” said Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison.

When they returned to the home on Friday, they found the man’s skeletal remains in the basement.

Investigators said the death of the 50-year-old mother and the 14-year-old boy might be a murder-suicide. All of the people appeared to have been killed by gunshot wounds, but the autopsy results are pending.

Neighbors told WXYZ-TV that they had not seen the husband in years and that the wife rarely left the home, except to occasionally receive a DoorDash food order.

RELATED: Performing arts teacher arrested for possessing meth, LSD, and child porn, police say

Samuel Jenkins, a resident of the neighborhood, said the incident had shocked residents.

“Everybody’s heard about it in the neighborhood; it’s a tragic situation,” Jenkins told WXYZ.

“My heart goes out to that entire family,” he added. “We just hope things get better for our community, and we as parents and grandparents work towards that goal.”

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​Foul smell, Murder suicide, Human remains, Detroit michigan, Crime 

While BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey walked into “Jubilee’s Face Off” against Monte Mader, she was expecting a debate.

But what she got was a “monologue-off.”

She and Mader were each allowed to bring two claims. Her two claims were that Christians must oppose abortion and that Christians cannot affirm same-sex marriage.

Mader’s claims were that America is not and will never be a Christian nation and that the patriarchy, not feminism, is at odds with Christ’s ministry and teaching.

“So four total claims, and there are 16 minutes per claim that we get to go back and forth, and that is split into her eight minutes and my eight minutes,” Stuckey explains, noting that there were also no interruptions allowed in the debate.

“It was really more of a monologue-off. Like it was her monologue, then my monologue. It wasn’t really a back-and-forth,” she explains, noting that the way it was set up made it difficult to respond to any claims.

“They make too many claims in a matter of, say, five minutes that they’re talking. You’ve got to pick and choose what claims you are going to respond to. And never do you have the ability to stop and say, ‘Hang on a second … you just said that, but earlier you said that,’” she says.

In this format, there is no way to “define your terms,” which Stuckey says is the “most important part of any debate.”

In one clip from the debate, her opponent claims that a baby in utero is “not a baby.”

“That’s not me being contrarian. That’s accuracy. Embryo up to the end of eight weeks and then we have a fetus. And I think it’s very important so that we’re actually getting to the facts of the matter,” Mader said.

“Do I have to put myself in harm’s way or risk death in order for this life to be viable? I think you have an absolutely solid argument after viability. But we know that that is not when the bulk of abortions happen,” she continued, adding that “late second and third trimester is almost exclusively for fatal fetal abnormalities, still births, partial miscarriages, and medical emergencies.”

“First of all, fetus is Latin for small child, and so we can get into the semantics of it. It’s all a human being. I mean, just because we call a child a toddler or we call a child a baby doesn’t mean that it’s not a child, doesn’t mean that it’s not a human,” Stuckey responded.

“Viability, extremely arbitrary standard for whether or not a person should be murdered. I mean, we’re not just talking about, OK, is it okay for the dentist to pull a tooth?” she added.

“So as you can see, there are a million things that I could have responded to even in that. I could have responded to the fact that she’s now saying, ‘I have a good argument after viability’ when earlier she said that ‘life doesn’t begin until first breath,’” Stuckey comments.

“I could have addressed this idea that late-term abortion, second and third trimester are only for all of these reasons like the health of the mother, cancer diagnosis. That’s not a reason to abort a child in the second or third trimester,” she continues.

“It’s really easy when someone is spouting a lot of information that might seem factual because they’re very confident to kind of follow them down that trail, but that’s called a red herring. That is making an argument that is actually totally unrelated and irrelevant to the logic and the substance of the main claim,” she adds.

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​Abortion, Allie beth stuckey, Debate, Late term abortion, Monte mader, Blazetv show, Jubliee