Updates from July, 2009

  • Hate Crimes

    Tom 5:13 pm on July 26, 2009 | 3 Permalink | Reply

    A friend sent me a video about a friend of hers who was attacked viciously because the person hated Lesbians. I’ve asked for the full link so I can repost it here, but it got me thinking about hate crimes and how people are being prosecuted for their thoughts. I wrote the following comment to her:
    What happened was a terrible crime and no one should EVER be subjected to such treatment- even more so at the hands of a deranged person who also hates Christians since he has so grossly misrepresented what they believe. I hope he fries for a very long time.

    But I confess to having great difficulty with the concept of “hate crimes.” EVERY crime is a hate crime, or done in such total disregard for the consequences that it exhibits a lack of caring equal to hate. When you try to punish hate crimes, what you are really punishing is thought. I believe that establishing hate crimes as an additional category of crime underlying the basic crime – in this case felonious assault and battery – puts us on a very slippery slope. What will the “thought police” want to punish next? As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Civil Rights laws can’t make the white man love me, but they can keep him from lynching me, and I consider that pretty good progress.” We cannot, should not, and should never even TRY to stifle thought. Each time we do we accept another limit on our God-given freedoms. I find that unacceptable.

     

    What do you think?

     
  • 'Soldier' Badge is Banned

    Tom 10:55 am on July 14, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply

    The following article was found at: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/campaigns/our_boys/2469328/Soldier-badge-is-banned.html.

     I find particularly interesting that while the patriotic symbol is banned for being offensive, gays are allowed to use the rainbow symbol that is very offensive to Christians who, of course by definition, are “intolerant.” Funny how “tolerance” is defined as accepting anti-Christian and anti-patriotic symbols, while Christian and patriotic symbols are just “offensive.”

     ’Soldier’ badge is banned

    By MIKE SULLIVAN Published: 08 Jun 2009

    ARMED cops patrolling Heathrow Airport have been banned from wearing tiny Union Jack badges in support of British troops. Top brass claimed the tie-pin badges – which cost £1 with proceeds going to the Help for Heroes charity – were OFFENSIVE. But one officer asked: “How can the Union Jack be offensive? “This ruling is even more absurd coming this weekend on the 65th anniversary of the D-Day landings. “We must be the only country ashamed to display our national flag.”

    Pride

    About 100 officers in the Metropolitan force’s SO18 Aviation branch, which patrols Heathrow, bought the inch-square badges. Seventy per cent of them served in the Forces and many have children fighting in Afghanistan. Another cop said: “We’re wearing the badges with pride. Most importantly, they are to show support for our soldiers at war.

     ”Nobody has put out orders to remove rainbow symbols that gay and lesbian officers wear. Why discriminate against us?” A statement from the Met said: “The dress code states only approved corporate badging may be used.”

     
  • Unions Paid Back Again

    Tom 2:50 pm on July 13, 2009 | 1 Permalink | Reply

    This just showed up in my inbox from the Wall Street Journal, and I just HAD to share it with you all:

    Steven Rattner is stepping down as head of the Obama administration’s auto task force. He will be replaced by Ron Bloom, a former steelworkers official. Rattner’s departure follows a speedy exit from bankruptcy-court protection for General Motors and Chrysler. The White House said he decided to return to private life and his family.

    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124751573500734529.html#mod=djemalertNEWS

    So let me get this straight – Obama is “not interested” in running car companies (or banks, or brokerage companies, or insurance companies….but I digress), puts a newbie in charge who has no foggy idea what the car industry is all about, and as soon as he locks down, through bankruptcy court, the US ownership of the company, he puts a union official in charge.

    Now, the last figures I saw said that the entire US population held only 7% union workers. Some industries rank as high as 12%. He already paid back the union for their political support by giving them more stock than the rights of the bond-holders suggest that they should have gotten. In reading Alan Greenspan’s Age of Turbulence, he makes a big deal about how a society can only progress economically when two things are present – the rule of law and the protection of property rights. The GM bankruptcy has done considerable violence to both property rights and the rule of law. Sotomayor’s theories of jurisprudence track well with the dismantlement of both as well.

    This is downright scary. I plan to do some research on Bloom. I’ve said that there is a time and place for unions, but in today’s economy they are very much the exception. Overly large and powerful unions (like banks, monopolistic corporations, and others, including governments) must occasionally be brought down a few pegs to curtail corruption. It is part of the heart of man. Left to his own devices we are left with Lord of the Flies. I’ll share what I learn about Bloom.

     
  • Three Interesting Items

    Tom 4:13 am on July 8, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply

    Three things came to my attention recently that are worth sharing. The first is this website, written in bible-like prose. If it were not so accurate and sad, it would be really funny. It is, at least,quite creative, so you should take a look.

    http://www.theospark.net/2009/07/and-it-came-to-pass-in-age-of-insanity.html

    The second item is an interesting YouTube video. Reportedly the actor inthis was invited by Obama to the White House, but I have not gotten that confirmed. Even so, a very well done refutation of the current administration policies.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeYscnFpEyA

     

    And finally, this came through an email thread, but I thought it was worth sharing here.

    Letter from a Granddad:

    John is 63 years old and owns his own business. He is a life-long Republican and sees his dream of retiring next year is now all but gone. With the stock market crashing and all the new taxes coming his way, John knows he will be working for a good number more years.

    John has a Granddaughter. Ashley is a recent college grad. She drives a late model car, wears all the latest fashions, and also likes going out and eating out a lot. Ashley campaigned hard for Obama, and after he won the election she made sure her Grandfather (and all other Republican family members) received more than an earful on how the world is going to be a much better place now that Obama won the election.

    Ashley recently found herself short of cash and cannot pay her bills, again. As she has done many other times in the past, she e-mailed her Grandfather asking for some financial help. Here is his reply:

    “Sweetheart,

    I am replying to your request for more money. Ashley, you know I love you dearly and am sympathetic to your financial plight. Unfortunately, times have changed. With the election of President Obama, your Grandmother and I have had to set forth a bold new economic plan of our own….the ‘Ashley Economic Plan’. Let me explain. Your grandmother and I are highly productive, wage-earning tax payers. As you know, we have lived a comfortable life and in return have forgone many things like fancy vacations, luxury cars, etc. We have worked hard and were looking forward to retiring soon. But this plan has changed. Your president is significantly raising our personal and business taxes. He says it is so he can give our hard earned money to other people. Do you know what this means, Ashley? It means less income for us. Less income means we must cut back on many business and personal expenditures. One example is, we were forced to let go of our receptionist today. You know her. She always gave you candy when you visited my office. Did you know she worked for us for the past 18 years? I can’t afford her anymore.

    That is a taste of the business side. Some personal economic effects of Obama’s new taxation policies include none other than you. You know very well that over the years your grandmother and I have given you thousands of dollars in cash, tuition assistance, food, housing, clothing, gifts, etc., etc. By your vote, you have chosen another family over ours for help. Judging from your Email requesting more money, I recommend you call 202-456-1111. That is the direct telephone number for the White House. You yourself repeatedly told me I was foolish vote Republican. You said Mr. Obama is going to be the people’s president and is going to help every American live a better life. Based upon everything you have told me and things we heard from him as he campaigned, I am sure Mr. Obama will be happy to send a check or transfer money into your checking account. Have him call me for the transaction and account numbers, which by now I know by heart.

    Perhaps you now can understand what I have been saying for all my life: those who vote for the president should consider what the impact of an election will be on the nation as a whole, and not just be concerned with what they can get for themselves (welfare, etc.). What Obama voters don’t seem to realize is all of the “government’s” money he is ‘redistributing’ to illegal aliens and non-taxpaying Americans (deemed “less fortunate”) comes from tax money collected from income tax-paying families. Remember how you told me, “Only the richest of the rich will be affected”? Guess what, honey? Because of our business, your Grandmother and I are now considered to be the richest of the rich. On paper, it might look that way. But in the real world, we are far from it. But, as you said while campaigning for Obama, some people will have to carry more of the burden so all of America can prosper. You understand what that means, right? It means that raising taxes on productive people results in them having less money. Less money for everything, including granddaughters.
    Congratulations on your choice for “change”. For future reference, I encourage you to attempt to add up the total value of the gifts and money you’ve received from us over the years, and compare it to what you expect to get over the next four years from Mr. Obama.

    Remember, we love you dearly… but from now on you’ll need to call the number referenced above when you need help.

    Good luck, sweetheart.
    Love,
    Grampa

     
  • Tea Parties

    Tom 2:11 am on July 8, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply

    Have any of you attended any of the tea parties around the country? There was apparently one in Dallas this past holiday weekend that attracted 37,000 people. Interesting that I heard about this on NO news program at all. Michelle Malkin was there and posted a few comments on her blog.

    One goal of these parties is to  identify and develop viable candidates, put forth initiatives,  and otherwise drive reforms from the grass-roots level.

    I support them but have not attended any yet. Guess I ought to fix that!

     
  • Eugenics or Genetic Fascism?

    Tom 3:04 am on July 5, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply

    When does eugenics become genetic fascism? In Denmark there is a program where parents can have some non-invasive tests done on a fetus to determine the probability of a Down’s Syndrome birth.  If these tests show a probability, a more invasive test can then be conducted  to determine without a doubt if the child will exhibit Down’s Syndrome and be a greater than usual burden to the parents or the state. In 2000 there were 55 Down’s babies born in Denmark; in 2005 that number slipped to 31. If this is not eugenics, then what is it?

    How far should pre-natal screening be pushed? And what conditions merit termination of a pregnancy? Some would argue that such “needy” children are a drain on society and not allowing them to be born is a good thing. Perhaps from their perspective of society, but I really do wonder if the child being killed would perceive it to be a good thing. Of course, they don’t get a vote. Only those who have survived the birth canal get to make those decisions.

    Does this bother you? Should it bother you? What about babies born with other congenital defects? Does a “blue baby” who will need immediate open heart surgery deserve to live? Does the baby who carries the gene that makes the likelihood of cancer more probable than not deserve to be chopped into pieces and evacuated from the uterus? If the purpose of all this genetic testing is to give parents the “termination option” are there any limits?

    I have long maintained that abortion is like slavery in that it is not a political issue at all. It is a moral issue. Those who try to make it a political issue are simply on the wrong side, and are manipulating the language to avoid the stark reality of the death of thousands of babies every day (3,315 every day of the week, 365 days a year just in the US.). A moral society simply can’t stand for that. We must conclude that the fight is worth fighting, or that we are all condemned as an immoral society on this topic.

    When we discuss slavery today (except among those who do not believe it ever existed, the holocaust never occurred, and we never put men on the moon) the right, moral answer is abundantly clear. No American believes that slavery in any form is acceptable. There are still world wide battles over various forms of slavery that still exist. The prostitution of young girls, the countless “missing persons” even on our own shores where there is evidence that these women have been enslaved somewhere. But no one debates the clear moral imperative. I believe that in some future generation they will look back at us and wonder, “Why did they struggle with abortion?” just as we wonder today about our ancenstors accepting slavery.

    And do you find it as interesting as I do (though fully expected) that when a lunatic guns down a well known late-term abortionist, our President speaks out immediately about what a travesty it is, and what a  stain on our society it is that such things occur. And yet when another lunatic guns down two of our soldiers outside of a recruiting center in Kansas – he is silent for days.

    Morality is not dead. Sanford is not helping the situation any more then Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Harry Reid, or Nancy D’Alessandro Pelosi is. This is not a party issue. It is a societal issue. What can you do to enhance the morality of our society before we fall prey to genetic fascism?

     
  • Palin Resigns as Governor

    Tom 9:46 pm on July 3, 2009 | 5 Permalink | Reply

    Well, here is a bit of a shocker. Wonder what she has in mind. Any thoughts?

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 09-167
    GOVERNOR PALIN ANNOUNCES NO SECOND TERM
    NO LAME DUCK SESSION EITHER
    July 3, 2009, Anchorage, Alaska – Governor Sarah Palin announced today that she will not seek a second term as Governor of the State of Alaska and will relegate the power of governor to Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell in order to serve Alaska’s best interests. Lieutenant General Craig Campbell will move into Parnell’s current role.
    “People who know me know that besides faith and family, nothing’s more important to me than our beloved Alaska,” said Governor Palin. “Serving her people is the greatest honor I could imagine.”
    Standing outside her home in Wasilla, Alaska, Governor Palin reflected upon some of the administration’s accomplishments for Alaska as she approaches her final year in office.
    “I am determined to take the right path for Alaska even though it is not the easiest path,” said Governor Palin after the announcement. “Once I decided not to run for re-election, I also felt that to embrace the conventional ‘Lame Duck’ status in this particular climate would just be another dose of ‘politics as usual,’ something I campaigned against and will always oppose. It is my duty to always protect our great state. With that in mind, my family and I determined that it is best to make a difference this summer, and I am willing to change things, so that this administration, with its positive agenda, its accomplishments, and its successful road to an incredible future, can continue without interruption and with great administrative and legislative success. I look forward to helping others – to fight for our state and our country, and campaign for those who believe in smaller government, free enterprise, strong national security, support for our troops, and energy independence.”

     
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