cowardice

Republicans Fiddle While Democracy Burns

Calvin Freiburger Barack Obama, blogosphere, Cass Sunstein, Constitution, cowardice, Democrats, liberalism, liberty, Republican Party, resercons, speech, strategy

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Enshrined in the First Amendment to the US Constitution, free speech is one of America’s cornerstones.  All sides sing its praises, and no politician can expect to safely voice disrespect or opposition towards it.

The underlings of politicians, on the other hand…

Cass Sunstein, appointed by Barack Obama to head the White House Office of Information & Regulatory Affairs, isn’t a big fan of free & unregulated political expression.  In the past, he’s argued for new laws that would make bloggers and web-hosting services potentially liable for what their commenters say, as well as make it easier to sue people who “spread rumors” for libel.

For obvious reasons, these proposals would be logistical nightmares to implement, forcing bloggers to spend less time expressing their own ideas and more time policing their audiences, lest they risk liability for the words of others.  The end result is a stifling of free speech, and make no mistake: that’s exactly what Barack Obama and Cass Sunstein intend.

Now, Sunstein has been caught proposing more regulation of the blogosphere, in the form of new federal mandates forcing websites to “provide links to sites of the other point of view…Or maybe a popup on your screen that would show you an advertisement or maybe even a quick argument for a competing view.”  An Internet Fairness Doctrine, if you will.

What do the Left’s premier guardians of free speech at the ACLU have to say about all this?  Nothing.

Of course, I expect the Democrats to pull this garbage, and their foot soldiers on the Left and in the media to quietly go along.  The real scandal here is the lack of strong, vocal Republican opposition.  If they aren’t finally corrected, and fast, the cowardice and inability to lead that dominate the GOP are going to be the death of this country.

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The Content of Obama’s Character; UPDATE: Now with Kos Feedback!

Calvin Freiburger 2008, abortion, cowardice, Democrats, evil, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, Iran, Islamofascism, Jeremiah Wright, letters, Obama, reporter, stupidity
My latest letter to the editor:
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A recent letter asked, “Why does everybody have such a problem with a member of a minority achieving a position of either prominence or power in our society?” as if racism is why voters really oppose Barack Obama. That’s completely false, and this voter opposes Obama because of his utter lack of competence, courage, and character.
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Competence: Iran and North Korea’s nuclear pursuits, and the desire of Islamic jihadists for nuclear weapons, make today’s world very dangerous, yet Obama pledges to cut investments in missile defense. He also voted against the recent bill preserving our intelligence-gathering capabilities, which received broad bipartisan support, passing 68-29.
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Courage: On June 4, Obama said Jerusalem should remain Israel’s undivided capital. But after a single day of Palestinian complaints, he backpedaled, now saying the Jews and Palestinians will have to negotiate it for themselves. Such cowardice leaves little doubt that Obama would fold like a house of cards in his no-precondition, direct talks with Iran’s Ahmadinejad.
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Character: No responsible father who values honesty could possibly expose his children to the foul lies of Jeremiah Wright. And nobody with a shred of decency or compassion could reach Obama’s extremes on abortion. In Illinois he fought against legal protection for fully-born babies who survived their abortions. Even after being separated from their mothers and gaining full physical independence, Obama thinks these children should be starved to death. Delivery-ward nurse Jill Stanek testified twice before Obama for born-alive infant protection, offering her firsthand experiences and pictures of premature births. She says her efforts “didn’t faze him at all.”
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Conservatives are judging Obama not by the color of his skin but by the content of his character. Unfortunately for him, that’s a contest in which he doesn’t stand a chance.
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UPDATE: It seems I’ve made a new friend on the Daily Kos! Unfortunately, Pan Zareta’s refutation is so devoid of substance it’s laughable. If you’re out there, Pan, I’d be happy to clear up any confusion you might have; comment away!

Easter Thoughts on Civility vs. Profanity

Calvin Freiburger civility, cowardice, demagogues, Easter, moonbats
“The foolish and wicked practice of profane cursing and swearing is a vice so mean and low that every person of sense and character detests and despises it.”
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– Sentiment attributed to President George Washington
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A couple weeks back, this News Buckit post caught the attention of various conservative pundits. Patrick Ishmael posits that, while the Left doesn’t have a monopoly on crudeness, its members do conduct themselves in a considerably more vulgar manner than those on the Right. The results come as no surprise whatsoever—for years ProtestWarrior has been putting the lie to the Left’s image of civility, the indispensable Michelle Malkin tears apart the insanity in Unhinged: Exposing Liberals Gone Wild, and those of us who take part in politics regularly, especially on the Internet, encounter the mud fairly frequently.
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Why the bitterness, obscenity & viciousness? Because Internet moonbats aren’t animated by anything more thoughtful, honorable or complex than sheer hatred. As adherents to an emotion-dominant worldview, their opponents cannot be innocently mistaken; ill will is the only logical explanation. Nobody could possibly believe the Iraq War could lead to less global violence in the long term, so oil profits or bloodlust must drive its proponents. Affirmative action obviously helps blacks; only racists would oppose it. And so on.
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Upon accepting the premise that the opponent is a villain unsusceptible to facts, the moonbat no longer considers presenting a superior argument the top priority (or any priority, often enough). Instead, he/she seeks to destroy and dehumanize the enemy. Any consideration for honesty, ethics or maturity is disregarded in favor of indulging his/her blind rage. Never mind how the sophomoric tirades or blatant demagoguery reflect upon him/her; they make the mudslinger feel good on some perverse level, and that’s all that matters—not whether the mud is true or relevant, just that it’s vicious. It’s easy to picture the average moonbat giggling behind the keyboard that has replaced his/her childhood playground, juvenile thoughts of “That’ll teach ‘em!” dancing in his/her head.
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Mature Americans are rightly disgusted by bloggers like Amanda Marcotte & Melissa McEwan and pundits like Bill Maher & Al Franken, but you do have to credit them with one thing: they rant as themselves, let their conduct define their identities, and let the chips fall where they may. However, the Internet allows millions of more-cowardly demagogues to spew their venom from the shadows. The fact that such people choose to operate anonymously, thereby keeping their demagoguery a nice, safe distance from their true identities, suggests that somewhere, deep down, they know what they do is simply not right.
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I wonder if that knowledge also produces a guilt or pain that, despite repeated attempts to drown it out with self-indulgent venom, just cannot be snuffed out. It’s sad that people choose to deal with their inner demons by lashing out in such useless, hateful and childish ways, but hopefully some of them will come to realize that their lives don’t have to be stuck in such moral ruts. Once they realize what they do is wrong, they can reject it, find forgiveness and redemption, and truly cast out their inner demons. Ultimately, that’s what this Easter Sunday is about.