“To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.”  ~ Thomas Jefferson

The drama that is currently being played out between the state of Indiana and the federal government over its decision to defund Planned Parenthood is rich in subtext.

The issues of state sovereignty and the federal government’s violation of the Tenth Amendment alone make this a compelling story, but there is another, darker revelation as well, one which should trouble all Americans of good conscience.

(more…)

As a student of history and politics, I’ve learned that criticism of our elected officials is as American as apple pie.

People who think we are somehow more divided and antagonistic than ever before when it comes to politics should read about the presidential campaign of 1828 between Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams, or the account of South Carolina congressman Preston Brooks nearly beating Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts to death in the Senate chamber. The technology has changed the speed and volume of the debate, but human nature remains the same.

I have found, however, that racial politics complicates that nugget of conventional wisdom.

One would expect a conservative constituent to disagree with a liberal politician and vice versa, and they have the right to openly express their disagreements in our land of liberty. I am proud of the free flow of information and commentary in our nation, and I willingly wore our country’s uniform, as did my father before me, to protect that freedom.

I am also a proponent of modern technology and communications as a democratizing force, and an alternative to a mainstream media that has become increasingly inaccessible to certain points of view.

Add race to that mix, however, and it becomes much more volatile.

(more…)

Rep. Bart Stupak’s (D-MI) retirement yesterday made him the first political casualty of the historic health care vote last month. His capitulation on the abortion issue, which made possible the Democrats’ force feeding of Obamacare to the American people, will go down as one of the great betrayals of principle in modern American politics.

His strident attacks on his former allies in the pro-life community are pathetic and despicable. His political career benefited from their support, and his stand on the abortion funding issue made him a household name. He deserves the enmity of the people he strung along for so long.

The debate on Obamacare has largely centered around the Democrats committing political suicide to enact it. I’m not surprised; this was less about health care, a fact more of us are learning every day, and more about expanding government control over our lives and decisions. This bill is full of mandates, taxes and restrictions, and does nothing to control costs or increase the availability or quality of care.

There’s one discussion topic I haven’t seen, however, and Rep. Stupak’s retirement spurred me to address it.

(more…)

Now that the controversial Focus on the Family Super Bowl ad featuring Pam and Tim Tebow has aired, the general reaction from most people is, “What was the fuss all about?”

I know that was my thinking after watching it. If you missed it because you got up to go to the bathroom or get a snack or – gasp! – you weren’t watching the  Super Bowl, check it out and draw your own conclusions.

The answer to that question reveals more about the individuals and organizations who opposed it than they may like. When liberal allies in the press, like the New York Times and the Washington Post, are critical of your reaction to a television ad, it’s a sure sign you’ve miscalculated pretty badly.

(more…)

Every time I think the audacity of President Obama has reached its peak and could never be exceeded, he leaps to heretofore unseen heights of effrontery. Having determined his unprecedented assault from the presidential podium on the authenticity and credibility of ordinary American citizens isn’t having the desired effect, he is now wrapping himself in the cloak of morality, exhorting religious leaders and reports on a conference call on August 19th to stand against “some folks out there who are, frankly, bearing false witness” regarding his hostile takeover of America’s health sector.

(more…)

Eunice Kennedy Shriver passed away on August 11, 2009 at the age of 88. Her death was noteworthy for many reasons, one of which I was unaware until reading one of the tributes that came her way.

(more…)

Perhaps no public figure in the country has been more visible or vocal in their opposition to the death penalty than our Governor, Martin O’Malley. Between several opinion pieces, speeches, pronouncements in the press  and legislative appeals, he’s made it a personal mission to eliminate the death penalty in Maryland. I’ve no doubt he is acting out of deep conviction in pursuing this policy change.  Therefore, it’s a shame that the stench of hypocrisy hangs over every word he utters in opposition to the death penalty:

Will we be a society guided by the notion that two wrongs somehow make a right?  Or will we be a society guided by the fundamental civil and human rights bestowed on humankind by God?

(more…)

Last week brought two more reports of medical breakthroughs using adult stem cells. These and other milestones reported over the past year are lending considerable scientific credibility to the practical and ethical use of adult stem cells for medical purposes. The continued liberal push for government funding of embryonic stem cell research, however, suggests they either can’t read, an accusation they normally level against us uneducated, ignorant and unsophisticated conservatives, or they are guilty of the same abuse of which they accuse us, that of injecting ideology into science. If anything, we conservatives have ethics and evidence on our side; the left has only hope – sound familiar?

(more…)

After declaring in a previous post that “my skinfolk ain’t necessarily my kinfolk,” a black correspondent objected to my refusal to vote for Barack Obama simply because we’re of the same race. This was my response to her:

(more…)

As I scanned the faces of the joyous crowd listening to President-elect Obama’s victory speech early this morning, my heart broke, not just for the courageous and honorable war hero and public servant I supported for President whose political career is now in its twilight, not just for the trailblazing female governor from Alaska who was still the target of mean-spirited online commentary at a time which called for grace and healing, but also for the people in the crowd itself. They have invested so much in this idea of “change” in the person of Barack Obama and the hope and expectation in their faces was too much for me to take. That this man was able to persuade a majority of people in this country that he stands for change is more of a testament to his considerable political skills than the novelty of his ideas. In fact, one could lay his prescription for the nation atop John Kerry’s or Al Gore’s, shine a light through them and find nary a stray ink mark or deviating sentence. “I will listen to you, especially when we disagree,” he proclaimed. Very well, then, Mr. Obama — how about some real change for a change?

(more…)