America is Waiting for Your Apology, Megan

by Christopher Paslay

From 2010 through 2018, U.S. Soccer paid women players $34.1 million in salaries and game bonuses and paid men only $26.4 million — not counting the significant additional value of various benefits that women’s players received but men did not.

Megan Rapinoe, star of the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team that just won their fourth World Cup, didn’t participate in the singing of the National Anthem, and excluded herself from accepting President Trump’s invitation to visit the White House (I’m not going to the f–ing White House, were her exact words). The reason? Rapinoe was upset by the pay inequity of U.S. Soccer.

According to the National Review:

In the aftermath of an impressive World Cup win for the U.S. Women’s Soccer team, the players and their fans grew increasingly lurid in demanding “equal pay” with the men’s team — echoing the grievances aired in the team’s lawsuit against U.S Soccer for alleged sex discrimination. The gambit reached its height on Sunday, when Senator Maria Cantwell (D., Wash.) tweeted out the following announcement: “I’ve introduced a #bipartisan plan to ensure equal pay for Americans who represent our country in global athletic competitions, like the World Cup or the Olympics. Currently, men & women can be paid differently for representing #TeamUSA in the same sport.”

Curiously, men and women are paid differently, but it’s not what folks like Rapinoe and Cantwell may have expected. Recently, U.S. Soccer released a document detailing ten years of financials, which stated, “From 2010 through 2018, U.S. Soccer paid our women $34.1 million in salaries and game bonuses and we paid our men $26.4 million — not counting the significant additional value of various benefits that our women’s players receive but which our men do not.”

The document also debunked Rapinoe’s hypothetical “20-friendly” season in which they would only earn 38 cents for every dollar earned by the Men’s Team in that same time frame:

The widely-reported claim that our women players currently earn only 38 cents for every dollar earned by our men is false. This claim is based on out-of-date numbers that do not reflect what our women’s players actually earn today. In particular, it overlooks the guaranteed salaries described above. The claim is also based on a hypothetical scenario — our men and women each playing 20 friendly matches in a year, which has never happened, and receiving the average bonus amount per game. That said, if the men and women ever did play in and win 20 friendlies in a year and were paid the average bonus amount, a women’s player would earn more from U.S. Soccer than the men’s player — the women’s player would earn at least $307,500 (WNT and NWSL salaries, plus game bonuses) and the men’s player would earn $263,333 (game bonuses only).

As noted in the National Review:

The U.S. Women’s Soccer Team, in other words, asked for something it didn’t actually want — “equal pay” — and demanded attention be brought to an issue that did not, by any conceivable metric, exist.

But the lack of such inequities matters little to Rapinoe, who lives in an alternate universe where she projects her own intolerance onto others and manufactures acts of oppression out of whole cloth. Instead of being grateful for her incredible fortune and opportunity, Rapinoe instead chooses to spread misinformation in an effort to convince herself she is fighting against injustice, even if that injustice needs to be created by her.

Like Rapinoe’s ridiculous notion that President Trump is a homophobe and is excluding people that look her. In May, Trump became the first Republican president ever to recognize LGBTQ Pride Month, Tweeting:

“As we celebrate LGBT Pride Month and recognize the outstanding contributions LGBT people have made to our great Nation, let us also stand in solidarity with the many LGBT people who live in dozens of countries worldwide that punish, imprison, or even execute individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation.”

In February of 2019, Trump even launched a global effort to end criminalization of homosexuality. According to NBC News:

The Trump administration is launching a global campaign to end the criminalization of homosexuality in dozens of nations where it’s still illegal to be gay, U.S. officials tell NBC News, a bid aimed in part at denouncing Iran over its human rights record.
U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, the highest-profile openly gay person in the Trump administration, is leading the effort, which kicks off Tuesday evening in Berlin. The U.S. embassy is flying in LGBT activists from across Europe for a strategy dinner to plan to push for decriminalization in places that still outlaw homosexuality — mostly concentrated in the Middle East, Africa and the Caribbean.

Trump also fought to protect the integrity of the U.S. women’s World Cup team by refusing to support H.R. 5, a bill that gave biological males who identify as females the right to compete in women’s sports, and gave males who identify as females the right to women’s spaces, which, according to Rep. Mike Johnson, “eliminates sex-based protections for women by forcing rape crisis centers, lady’s locker rooms, female prisons, women’s sports leagues and other sex-based organizations to admit biological males.”

Now that U.S. Soccer has conclusively demonstrated that the U.S. Women’s Team makes nearly 30 percent MORE than the U.S. Men’s Team, are Rapinoe and her teammates ready to take a giant pay cut to make things equal again? Not likely.

Still, a sincere apology to America and U.S. Soccer would be nice.

Liberals Throw Temper Tantrums; Trump Makes Deals

by Christopher Paslay

As folks like Megan Rapinoe, Colin Kaepernick, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez curse and stomp their feet in the corner, President Trump is reaching across the aisle and getting things done; enacted bills with bipartisan support are at a 20-year high.

Megan Rapinoe isn’t going to the “f**cking White House.” Colin Kaepernick, outraged by the hateful symbol otherwise known as the American flag, isn’t going to honor a country that made him a multimillionaire. And freshman Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, well, she’s going to label everyone on planet earth a racist – including Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, and all of the Democrat’s centrist “segregationists” – and when that’s done, she’s going to speak with NASA about looking for some racists on Mars, too.

That’s the behavior of the American Left. We’ve entered a hyper-politically correct age driven by divisive identity politics – where the content of a person’s character is secondary to their race, gender, and sexuality. Which means when liberals don’t get their way, they throw a temper tantrum like John McEnroe or Lou Piniella. They curse, pout, scream and hold their ears until the person they disagree with grows tired of trying to reason with them. When that doesn’t work, they start using the failsafe words: racist, sexist, homophobe, Islamophobe, xenophobe, and the hottest new phobia, straight out of Frankenstein’s linguistic laboratory, transphobe.

And what is President Trump doing while all this nonsense is happening? While AOC is screaming at the border about policies that existed since President Clinton and passing around pictures of caged children taken during Obama’s presidency? Why, Trump is getting things done, that’s what. Lots of things, in fact. And not just ramming legislation down everyone’s throats, either. He’s reaching across the aisle and coming together with his political opponents and finding common ground.

According to the Pew Research Center, “Between its inception in January 2017 and its final day on Jan. 3, the GOP-led 115th Congress enacted 442 public laws, the most since the 110th Congress (2007-09).” And most notably, almost 70 percent of these bills were bipartisan, the most in 20 years. As noted by Pew Research:

Perhaps its most significant law was the $1.5 trillion Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, passed in December 2017. Besides reducing income taxes on individuals and businesses, the law repealed the tax intended to enforce the 2010 Affordable Care Act’s mandate that most Americans carry health insurance.
Other major legislation, much of it passed with bipartisan support, included the First Step Act, an overhaul of the federal criminal justice system; a new five-year farm bill; a law intended to address the opioid crisis by, among other things, expanding the availability of addiction treatment; the Music Modernization Act, which rewrote music copyright and royalty rules for the digital age; a sanctions bill targeting Russia, Iran and North Korea; a bill overhauling and extending veterans’ educational benefits; and the first comprehensive NASA authorization bill in more than six years.

On the international front, Trump has also been working his magic on foreign policy. As reported by The Hill:

On the biggest stage, he excoriates our NATO allies and yet comes home with a larger NATO budget and an unprecedented visit from the European Union (EU) to seriously negotiate a trade deal. He pulls the same stunt with Canada and Mexico, with similar results. But that, of course, is not the trick. The real stunt is that he then begins to negotiate a much more important deal with China without needing to watch his back from Europe, Canada and Mexico.

And the economy, according to the Wall Street Journal:

“The job market doesn’t get much better than this. The U.S. economy has added jobs for 100 consecutive months. Unemployment recently touched its lowest level in 49 years. Workers are so scarce that, in many parts of the country, low-skill jobs are being handed out to pretty much anyone willing to take them—and high-skilled workers are in even shorter supply. All sorts of people who have previously had trouble landing a job are now finding work. Racial minorities, those with less education and people working in the lowest-paying jobs are getting bigger pay raises and, in many cases, experiencing the lowest unemployment rate ever recorded for their groups.”

Today, the stock market reached an all-time high, closing above 27,000 for the first time ever. In short, Trump is getting things done. Ironically, the so-called “divisive” president is making deals and finding common ground. And he’s doing it despite the histrionics of outraged liberals like Rapinoe, Kaepernick, and the teary-eyed AOC.

Ironically, Trump is Megan Rapinoe’s Biggest Ally

by Christopher Paslay

Soccer star Megan Rapinoe continues to spread misinformation about Trump, despite his efforts to protect the integrity of women’s sports and to end the criminalization of homosexuality in dozens of nations.

Megan Rapinoe, the co-captain of the United States women’s World Cup team, is an extremely talented soccer player. But like many professional athletes and celebrities, her fame and fortune have impacted her ability to accurately process reality, and she lives in an alternate universe where she projects her own intolerance onto others and manufactures acts of oppression out of whole cloth.

For all of her incessant talk of “inclusion,” she’s ironically big on the theme of exclusion. She excluded herself from participating in the national anthem during the FIFA Women’s World Cup tournament, she excluded herself from accepting Trump’s invitation to visit the White House (I’m not going to the f**king White House, were her exact words), and has apparently persuaded her teammates into excluding themselves from visiting Trump, too.

During a recent interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Rapinoe had this to say to President Trump:

“Your message is excluding people. You’re excluding me, you’re excluding people that look like me, you’re excluding people of color, you’re excluding Americans that maybe support you. What you’re saying about Make America Great Again, I think that you’re harking back to an era that was not great for everyone. It might have been great for a few people and maybe America’s great for a few people right now but it’s not great for enough Americans. . . .”

Anderson Cooper then followed up with this comment:

“The idea of Make America Great Again if it means going back to an America from the ‘40s or ‘50s, that’s an America where you could be imprisoned for being gay or you could be sent by your family to a mental hospital where you could not walk down the street holding hands with your loved one or I could not walk down the street or go dancing or anything.”

Now, excuse me if I’m a little confused, but what in God’ name are these two talking about? Anderson Cooper can’t possibly believe that “Make America Great Again” means going back to the time “where you could be imprisoned for being gay or you could be sent by your family to a mental hospital,” can he? Of course not. This is exactly the kind of blatant, misrepresentation of information that is ruining CNN’s reputation, and has prompted Trump to declare that they are “fake news.”

Likewise, what does Rapinoe mean when she says Trump is “harking back to an era that was not great for everyone”? She provides no examples, making her rhetoric meaningless, propagandistic blather that celebrities like her spout to convince themselves they’re fighting against injustice, even if that injustice needs to be created by them (think Jussie Smollett).

Economically, everyone is doing better under Trump, especially minorities, whose unemployment rates are the lowest in 50 years. In terms of social issues, Trump is doing much to reform the criminal justice system, and passed the “First Step Act,” lauded by both Republicans and Democrats, which provides prisoners with a second chance through rehabilitative programs, fair sentencing, and smart confinement, and helps inmates successfully transition back into society.

Trump even opened his administration to the concerns of the African American community, inviting Kanye West – who actually went to the White House – to lead a forum designed to ease the relationship between black citizens and police. Perhaps Rapinoe might want to watch the video, “The Young Black Conservatives of Trump’s America,” which has 3.2 million views, and features conservative actress Stacey Dash and pro-Trump activist Candace Owens, who also went to the White House to meet with Trump about important issues in the black community.

As for Rapinoe’s ridiculous statement that Trump is excluding people that look like her, this is another example of her complete isolation from real world events, and of her penchant for gobbling down the latest anti-Trump agitprop. Not even six weeks ago, Trump became the first Republican president ever to recognize LGBTQ Pride Month, Tweeting:

“As we celebrate LGBT Pride Month and recognize the outstanding contributions LGBT people have made to our great Nation, let us also stand in solidarity with the many LGBT people who live in dozens of countries worldwide that punish, imprison, or even execute individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation.”

In February of 2019, Trump even launched a global effort to end criminalization of homosexuality. According to NBC News:

The Trump administration is launching a global campaign to end the criminalization of homosexuality in dozens of nations where it’s still illegal to be gay, U.S. officials tell NBC News, a bid aimed in part at denouncing Iran over its human rights record.
U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, the highest-profile openly gay person in the Trump administration, is leading the effort, which kicks off Tuesday evening in Berlin. The U.S. embassy is flying in LGBT activists from across Europe for a strategy dinner to plan to push for decriminalization in places that still outlaw homosexuality — mostly concentrated in the Middle East, Africa and the Caribbean.

Despite Trump’s pro-LGBTQ policies, the effort to paint him as “homophobic” by people like Rapinoe continues. Specifically, LGBTQ activists bring up the fact that Trump opposed the LGBTQ nondiscrimination bill (The Equality Act, H.R. 5), but there were two reasons for this. One, the bill, which was passed in May, gives males who identify as females the right to women’s spaces, which, according to Rep. Mike Johnson, “eliminates sex-based protections for women by forcing rape crisis centers, lady’s locker rooms, female prisons, women’s sports leagues and other sex-based organizations to admit biological males.”

Two, the bill allows biological males who identify as females to compete in women’s sports, and gives them access to athletic scholarships and Title IX funding set aside for females; Republican legislators tried to amend The Equality Act to protect women’s spaces and sports, including Title IX funding, but Democrats pushed the bill through unchanged.

Ironically, it’s Trump who’s actually protecting the integrity of the U.S. women’s World Cup team by refusing to support a bill that gives biological males who identify as females the right to compete with women. I wonder how Megan Rapinoe would feel if she – or any of her teammates on the World Cup soccer team, for that matter – lost their spots on the roster to transwomen (that is, biological men who identify as women)?

This could happen sooner than you think. In April of 2017, the FC Dallas under-15 boys squad beat the U.S. Women’s National Team in a scrimmage, 5 – 2. And yes, Megan Rapinoe was on that team. Allow me to repeat: the FC Dallas under-15 boys squad beat the U.S. Women’s National Team, 5 – 2. Basically, with The Equality Act now on the books, it’s only a matter of time before transgender women at any level – high school, college, or even pro – start plucking away the U.S. women’s World Cup roster, one by one.

And what would Rapinoe have to say about that, once she’s unemployed? Would she still hate Trump with the same level of passion?

Only time will tell. The universe and Mother Nature don’t take sides, and they don’t care a wit for self-righteous, uninformed soccer players, either.