McCain/Feingold Takes a Hit (Thankfully)
when old coots should be in bed
More good news on the “thankfully at least GWB has put two people on the Supreme Court who actually believe that the Constitution is the law of the land” front:
Court Eases Rules on Political Advertising
Free speech: what a concept (a concept that threatens John McCain, Russ Feingold, and interestingly enough, Fred Thompson, quasi-conservative darling of the “conservatives” these days, who supported McCain/Feingold).
And another reason why, irrespective of GWB’s obvious mediocrity in most respects, it’s still a great, great thing that we didn’t elect John F. Kerry…
Justice.
when old coots should be in bed
Adventures of Marco Polo
101 Offensive Water Polo DrillsThe Kelo Theft Saga Continues
when old coots should be in bed
Tom Blumer at BizzyBlog was kind enough to send me links to several of his recent posts regarding the latest on the “legal” theft of property being perpetrated by the City Council of New London, Connecticut (with the five “compassionate/liberal” members of our Supreme Court serving as unashamed accomplices). Here are the links:
Kelo’s Crunch Time Looms in New London: Part 1
Kelo’s Crunch Time Looms in New London: Part 2
Kelo’s Crunch Time Looms in New London: Part 3
As you know if you’ve read this blog for any time, this writer considers the Kelo decision to be one of the most deplorable of my lifetime in its brazen assault on the basic right to own property. If you read these posts, you’ll learn that the issue is even deeper now than originally understood: the New London thieves are going to continue in their plan to steal the homeowners’ property even though they no longer “need” it.
This just defines the word “infuriating”. I certainly hope that some folks stand up and run against the thieves during the next Council election; if I lived there, I certainly would, with a one-plank platform: “Integrity, Not Thievery”. I further hope that some patriots will occupy the properties in question in a massive display of resistance to tyranny. All that is required for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.
Sadly, Americans are likely too preoccupied with who is going to win the next American Idol or whatever became of Natalie Holloway to likely care about this travesty, fiddlin’ away their lives while America burns.
UPDATE: Republican Governor Jodi Rell is running for re-election this fall. Her website declares that she is dedicated to “doing what’s right for Connecticut”. What’s wrong for Connecticut, Madame Governor, is for your fair state to be known as the vanguard of eminent domain theft. You can step in, Governor Rell, and restore sanity to this situation; you have it in your power. Please act on behalf of the citizens of your state!
Younger Evangelicals, The: Facing the Challenges of the New World
The Glory Game: How the 1958 NFL Championship Changed Football Forever
Dan Rooney: My 75 Years With the Pittsburgh Steelers and the NFLFirst Amendment? Niiiiice Concept, Judge White…
when old coots should be in bed
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”; that thar statement would be the first line of the First Amendment. Congress can’t get into the business of restricting the free exercise of faith. Apparently, a district court judge thinks that he can:
Court Tells Christian Club Its Mission Not Harmed by Non-Believing Leaders
Okay, let’s parse this for a moment. Perhaps a good argument can be made that this law school (ironic there, ain’t it?) should not be forced to provide funding and recognition for this Christian student club, although denying recognition, at the very least, would seem to amount to viewpoint discrimination; fair enough. But the basis upon which that judgment is reached by this judge is just preposterous: the admission to leadership/voting membership status of those who do not subscribe to the basic Christian tenets of the club does not constitute an incursion upon the club’s free exercise of religion. Incredible.
Assumedly, then, a Jewish student group could not bar Ku Klux Klan sympathizers from membership/leadership, right? An animal-rights group, assumedly, could not bar gun-toting NRA members from membership/leadership (and, theoretically, eventual takeover). We call it freedom when there is no way to regulate the membership/leadership of a given organization in such a way that the goals/beliefs/purposes of the organization are safeguarded? And in this case, the very point of a Christian student club is to do…Christian things! But according to this judge, apparently, there’s no way that such a group should be able to bar, say, a Buddhist from leadership/membership—because it really doesn’t “crimp the club’s style” for this to happen.
Astonishing.
Marco Polo Didn't Go There: Stories and Revelations from One Decade as a Postmodern Travel Writer (Travelers' Tales Guides)
The Scandal of the Evangelical MindEscape from Accountability
when old coots should be in bed
I’ve just posted a number of previous writings to my blog; go to the top and click on “Other Writings from my Brain”. A few years back, I wrote a piece entitled “The Essence of Liberalism”, and it included this phrase: “Modern-day liberalism, in a nutshell, is an escape from accountability”. Is that not exactly what we are seeing played out in the current debates regarding what to do with illegal aliens?
Of course it is. This issue is categorically not about racism. It is categorically not about immigration, even. It is about one matter, and one matter only: do we expect people to follow the duly-enacted laws of our nation, or do we not? Will we hold people accountable for this, or will we not? In short, do we believe in the rule of law, or do we not?
The House of Representatives passed common-sense legislation aimed at doing just this; the Senate, and the President, seem poised to spit in the face of the rule of law. What price will be paid if we move forward with an amnesty program (of course, Arlen the Wonder Senator says that this is “not an amnesty program”, but Arlen the Wonder Senator has forgotten that a rose by any other name…)? It’s pretty easy to know: we will say, and it won’t be the first time, that we really don’t seriously expect people to obey the laws of our nation. We will contribute to the further disrespect for the rule of law. This is what liberals seem to always do…and it’s always wrong.
In the Footsteps of Marco Polo: A Companion to the Public Television FilmFor Once, Sanity is Unanimous on the Supreme Court
when old coots should be in bed
Thus ends a silly episode in which the National Organization for Women—one of America’s silliest groups—tried to muzzle free speech by appealing to the RICO Act, arguing that people who demonstrate outside abortion clinics against the violence inside were guilty of racketeering. Please…
Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Abortion Protesters
Thankfully, the Court saw through this tissue-thin argument.
Godless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America's Leading Atheists
The Adventures of PoloA Law I Would Break
when old coots should be in bed
Wow…what breathtaking arrogance on the part of Massachusetts lawmakers—thankfully, the proposed law failed:
Bill’s Failure to Pass May Have Saved Some Bay State Churches
I believe fully in financial disclosure on the part of churches. Want to know how we spend our money? If you’re part of my church, you’re absolutely entitled to know that; we don’t hide anything. But if you’re from the government, and you want to force me to give you an audited statement of such every year, go fish. There’s this thing called the Constitution, and it provides for freedom of religion. A $5000-10,000 annual audit is a significant encumbrance upon that freedom. This is the kind of law that you fail to obey in order to be a good citizen. Thankfully, it hasn’t—yet—come to that in Massachusetts, “Land of the Loony Politicians”.
The NFL Gameday Cookbook
This phrase comes from the 1978 "Jonestown massacre" in which most members of the Peoples Temple cult, blindly following their leader Jim Jones, committed suicide by drinking cyanide-laced Kool-Aid.
Osborne: A Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God
Schlossberg: Idols For Destruction
