Real Hero Jesse Owens: “Hitler Didn’t Snub Me — It Was Our President” by Lawrence W. Reed

/in , , , /by

James Cleveland “Jesse” Owens famously won four gold medals, all at the 1936 games in Berlin, Germany. But in the hearts of Americans who know their Olympic history, this African American man did more than win races: he struggled against racism.

At the time of Owens’s death in 1980 at age 66, President Jimmy Carter paid this tribute to him:

Perhaps no athlete better symbolized the human struggle against tyranny, poverty, and racial bigotry. His personal triumphs as a world-class athlete and record holder were the prelude to a career devoted to helping others. His work with young athletes, as an unofficial ambassador overseas, and a spokesman for freedom are a rich legacy to his fellow Americans.

Carter’s words were especially fitting in light of an unfortunate fact in Owens’s life: unforgivably, a previous American president had given him the brush-off.

Born in Alabama in 1913, James Owens at the age of nine moved with his family to the town in Ohio that bore his middle name, Cleveland. His first school teacher there asked him his name. With a deep Southern twang, he replied “J.C. Owens.” She heard “Jesse,” so that’s what she wrote down. The name stuck for the next 57 years.

Jesse could run like the wind and jump like a kangaroo. He broke junior high school records in the high jump and the broad jump. In high school, he won every major track event in which he competed, tying or breaking world records in the 100-yard and 220-yard dashes and setting a new world record in the broad jump. Universities showered him with scholarship offers, but he turned them all down and chose Ohio State, which wasn’t extending track scholarships at the time.

Imagine it. You come from a relatively poor family. You could go to any number of colleges for next to nothing, but you pick one you have to pay for. At 21, you have a wife to support as well. So what do you do? If you are Jesse Owens, you work your way through school as a gas station attendant, a waiter, an all-night elevator operator, a library assistant, even a page in the Ohio legislature. Owens worked, studied, practiced on the field, and set more records in track during his years at OSU.

The biography at JesseOwens.com tells the stunning story that unfolded in 1935:

Jesse gave the world a preview of things to come in Berlin while at the Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor on May 25, 1935, [where] he set three world records and tied a fourth, all in a span of about 45 minutes. Jesse was uncertain as to whether he would be able to participate at all, as he was suffering from a sore back as a result of a fall down a flight of stairs. He convinced his coach to allow him to run the 100-yard dash as a test for his back, and amazingly he recorded an official time of 9.4 seconds, once again tying the world record. Despite the pain, he then went on to participate in three other events, setting a world record in each event. In a span of 45 minutes, Jesse accomplished what many experts still feel is the greatest athletic feat in history — setting three world records and tying a fourth in four grueling track and field events.

Ohio wasn’t the Deep South, but in the mid-1930s, it wasn’t a paradise of racial equality, either. OSU required Owens and other black athletes to live together off campus. They had to order carryout or eat at “black-only” restaurants and stay in segregated hotels when traveling with the team.

The eyes of the world were focused on Berlin in early August 1936. Five years earlier and before the Nazis came to power, the German capital had been selected as the site for the summer 1936 Olympic games. An effort to boycott them because of Hitler’s racism fizzled. It would be a few more years before events convinced the world of the socialist dictator’s evil intentions. Jesse Owens entered the competition with Americans thrilled at his prospects but wondering how Hitler would react if “Aryan superiority” fell short of his expectations.

Jesse didn’t go to Berlin with a political axe to grind. “I wanted no part of politics,” he said. “And I wasn’t in Berlin to compete against any one athlete. The purpose of the Olympics, anyway, was to do your best. As I’d learned long ago … the only victory that counts is the one over yourself.”

If, a hundred years from now, only one name is remembered among those who competed at the Berlin games, it will surely be that of Jesse Owens.

Owens won the 100-meter sprint, the long jump, the 200-meter sprint, and the 4 x 100 sprint relay. In the process, he became the first American to claim four gold medals in a single Olympiad. Owens waved at Hitler and Hitler waved back, but the nasty little paper-hanger expressed his annoyance privately to fellow Nazi Albert Speer. He opined that blacks should never be allowed to compete in the games again.

A side story of Owens’s Berlin experience was the friendship he made with a German competitor named Lutz Long. A decent man by any measure, Long exhibited no racial animosity and even offered tips to Owens that the American found helpful during the games. Of Long, Owens would later tell an interviewer,

It took a lot of courage for him to befriend me in front of Hitler.… You can melt down all the medals and cups I have and they wouldn’t be a plating on the 24-karat friendship I felt for Lutz Long at that moment. Hitler must have gone crazy watching us embrace. The sad part of the story is I never saw Long again. He was killed in World War II.

Back home, ticker tape parades feted Owens in New York City and Cleveland. Hundreds of thousands of Americans came out to cheer him. Letters, phone calls, and telegrams streamed in from around the world to congratulate him. From one important man, however, no word of recognition ever came. As Owens later put it, “Hitler didn’t snub me; it was our president who snubbed me. The president didn’t even send a telegram.”

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, leader of a major political party with deep roots in racism, couldn’t bring himself to utter a word of support, which may have been a factor in Owens’s decision to campaign for Republican Alf Landon in the 1936 presidential election.

“It all goes so fast, and character makes the difference when it’s close,” Owens once said about athletic competition. He could have taught FDR a few lessons in character, but the president never gave him the chance. Owens wouldn’t be invited to the White House for almost 20 years — not until Dwight Eisenhower named him “Ambassador of Sports” in 1955.

Life after the Olympics wasn’t always kind to Jesse Owens. When he wanted to earn money from commercial endorsements, athletic officials yanked his amateur status. Then the commercial offers dried up. He was forced to file for bankruptcy. He felt the sting of racial discrimination again. But for the last 30 years of his life, until he died in 1980 of lung cancer, he found helping underprivileged teenagers to be even more personally satisfying that his Olympic gold medals.

For further information, see:

Jeremy Schaap’s Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler’s Olympics

David Clay Large’s Nazi Games: The Olympics of 1936

Lawrence W. Reed
Lawrence W. Reed

Lawrence W. (“Larry”) Reed became president of FEE in 2008 after serving as chairman of its board of trustees in the 1990s and both writing and speaking for FEE since the late 1970s.

EDITORS NOTE: Each week, Mr. Reed will relate the stories of people whose choices and actions make them heroes. See the table of contents for previous installments.

Washington Post Editorial Board Supports Jeb Bush in His Common Core Quandary

/in , , , /by

On August 17, 2015, the Washington Post editorial board wrote a piece in which it “did not blame Mr. [Jeb] Bush from shying away from the term [Common Core].”

Bush has his political career on his mind, and using the term “Common Core” is “poison” to that career. So, Bush is using a carefully-crafted Common-Core euphemism, saying that he is for “higher standards, state-created, locally implemented, where the federal government has no role in the creation of standards, content or curriculum.”

The Washington Post editorial board sympathizes with Bush, who supposedly was put in this position because of the “bogus premise” that Common Core is a “federal takeover of education.”

In 2009, the federal government used future Race to the Top (RTTT) funding to entice governors to sign their states up for a Common Core that did not yet exist. The 2009 National Governors Association (NGA) Symposium is clear about this in its 16-page document from the Symposium.

However, the intention was not only for there to be a Common Core. Common Core was only one of four interconnected, test-centric reforms known as the Four Assurances (listed here in brief):

1. Common standards and assessments

2. Teacher performance (value-added assessment)

3. “Turnaround” of “low performing” schools

4. Building data systems.

In 2009, the governors of 46 states and three territories signed NGA’s agreement detailing how Common Core was to be developed (note that “states” were being directed by the nonprofit NGA and another nonprofit, the Council of Chief State School Officers, CCSSO, on this “state led” development) and which was intended to lead to unquestioned, automatic Common Core adoption.

Why would so many governors fall for this?

The money. US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan was at this 2009 NGA Symposium, and he promised these governors a potential slice of billions of dollars in American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA)  funding– but only if they agreed to incorporate all Four Assurances into the education systems of their states. The excerpt below is from the NGA’s 16-page, 2009 report:

Governors have an unprecedented opportunity through the ARRA to make bold reforms in education. With momentum building around the four assurances and the Race to the Top funds, governors may want to consider the following as they move forward with their education reform agendas:

1. The four assurances do not exist in a vacuum. To improve educational outcomes for students in the U.S. and qualify for RTT funding, governors will need to work on all four assurances simultaneously. The issues discussed in this report are all interconnected, and policies which may seem likely to improve one area could have unintended consequences for another area of reform. Joanne Weiss from the U.S. Department of Education explained that when deciding which states will receive awards from the $4.35 billion Race to the Top competitive grant program, the Department will be watching for integrated plans that address all four of the reform areas. Therefore, states must work in concert on improving standards and assessments, increasing teacher effectiveness, providing support for low-performing schools, and strengthening data quality. [Emphasis added.]

At the 2009 NGA Symposium, Duncan made the grand announcement that the feds would cover the costs to get the “common assessments” off of the ground:

At the Symposium, Secretary Duncan made an important announcement regarding these [ARRA] funds: $350 million of the Race to the Top funds has been earmarked to support the development of high-quality common assessments.

These governors were led right into the federal will for state-level education by the promise of federal money. It was just that easy.

The governors traded state autonomy for federal money. And the federal government– US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan backed by President Barack Obama– encouraged them to do so and allowed it to happen.

In its Jeb Bush defense, the Washington Post editorial staff not only downplays the federal enticement; the Washington Post editorial board defends the federal role:

The pressure [Republicans in the presidential race to turn against Common Core] is built on bogus premises. Common Core is not a federal takeover of education. States developed the standards, accepted them voluntarily and implement them with local flexibility. The federal government merely encouraged states to adopt them, as it should have.  [Emphasis added.]

The Washington Post editorial board assumes that the governors who signed on for Common Core did so for some primary reason greater that the federal dollars doing so would possibly bring into their states. However, any governor who really wanted “higher standards” would surely have insisted on some empirical evidence that the resulting standards were indeed “higher” prior to agreeing to adopt them. Yet this common-sense insistence did not happen.

The promise of federal dollars won.

The RTTT competition for federal funding if a state agreed to institute the Four Assurances did happen, as did the federal “competition” to fund two Common Core testing consortia, PARCC and Smarter Balanced.

Even the pro-Common Core Fordham Institute could not could not construct “evidence” that Common Core was “higher” than the current standards in all 50 states and DC– but it still not only endorsed Common Core but also traveled to states with standards it rated as “higher” than Common Core, only to try to convince these states to settle for Common Core.

However, it was bound to happen that a number of these governors would put their own careers ahead of any Common Core allegiance since their initial commitment was only a superficial, bandwagon commitment to federal money.

And now, we have the Washington Post giving a thumbs-up to Republican Jeb Bush and Democratic governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, for “fighting the poison.” However, the Washington Post’s publicly aligning Republican Jeb! with a Democratic governor– and one whose approval rating is at an all-time low (also here)– probably does little to advance Jeb! and his euphemistic “higher standards” before a public that is growing increasingly wise to federally-enticed Common Core.

Which GOP Presidential Candidate Will Keep Their Word if Elected?

/in , , /by

My wife and I were a very nervous and excited young couple purchasing our first home. Our home builder was a dear friend of my parents. Upon going to closing, there were numerous odds and ends the builder had not completed. He vowed to complete my home asap and asked that I sign a paper for the bank stating that he completed all the work on my home.

My mom cautioned me not to sign the paper. Mom said, “Eaten bread is soon forgotten.” I ignored Mom’s counsel. Sure enough, after my builder received his check from the bank, I had to chase him for over a year to complete my home.

Just like my builder said whatever necessary to get paid, politicians make voter-pleasing promises on the campaign trail. After they are elected, they forget their promises. Therefore, the final Jeopardy question is – Which GOP presidential contender will keep their word if elected? Having been burnt so many times, trustworthiness, character and backbone must be paramount in selecting our nominee.

In this primary season, we have witnessed honorable conservative candidates dialing back their original comments or apologizing due to pressure from the mainstream media and the candidate’s handlers. This raises concerns in me about how these candidates will holdup under world class attacks once they are in the WH.

Leftists (mainstream media, Democrats and liberals) viciously insulted and accused president Ronald Reagan of every nasty thing imaginable. It takes a rare human being to stand firm in the midst of 24/7 relentless character assassination. Thus, my question. Which GOP contender will follow through with their conservative promises?

At the top of my list is Senator Ted Cruz. On several issues, Cruz seems to always end up on the opposite side of the GOP establishment and Leftist Democrats; in-sync with We the People. Cruz never follows the crowd. Eagles fly alone.

Remember Cruz getting hammered by Democrats and Republicans for fighting to defund Obamacare? Win or lose, We the People desperately needed to see someone on our side not simply rolling over and playing dead in surrender to Obama as he transforms our great country.

Cruz boldly says he is a Christian. During the GOP debate, I was struck by how naturally Cruz shared his dad’s testimony; transformed from an alcoholic abandoning his wife and three year old Ted to giving his heart to Jesus and reuniting with his family. Politicians do not speak that freely about God and Jesus these days in the political public square. Obviously, Ted Cruz rejected the Left and MSM’s memo banning God. As I said, eagles fly alone.

Some GOP contenders are wishy-washy on illegal immigration, even joining the liberal mainstream media in calling Trump racist for addressing it. Imagine how easily such a president’s position could be swayed when he or she is trashed by the media.

Another GOP contender hopes to win black votes by exempting them from having to show a photo ID to vote. We do not want a president who is willing to surrender to the absurd Democrat party lie that it is too challenging for blacks to find their way to the DMV to acquire a photo ID. Americans do not want another president pandering to various voting blocs and selectively enforcing our laws.

While any of our GOP 17 are far superior to another socialist in the WH, a few are GOP establishment, big donor and Chamber of Commerce Trojan horses. They talk a good conservative game before the election. But once in the WH, they will prove to be a Manchurian candidate of the Washington cartel.

The Bible repulses the MSM like showing Dracula the cross. Still, Cruz quoted scripture, “you shall know them by their fruit.” Cruz said we see lots of “campaign conservatives.” He added that to win in 2016, we need a consistent fiscal, social and national security conservative. Cruz also touted that he has been a defender of life his entire career. This guy paints in bold colors folks.
Cruz looked America squarely in the eye and made bold promises during the GOP debate causing him to surge in the polls. On his first day as president, Cruz vows to rescind every illegal and unconstitutional executive action taken by Obama. He will instruct the DOJ to investigate the shocking videos and prosecute Planned Parenthood for any criminal violations. He will defend religious liberty, cancel the Iran deal and move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

Cruz also vows to repeal Obamacare.

Again, as I stated, while all of our contenders know how to say what We the People want to hear, the $64,000 Question (1950s TV game show) is which one is “for real?” Who will keep their word?

Here is Cruz’s last statement of the GOP debate. “I will keep my word. My father fled Cuba, and I will fight to defend liberty because my family knows what it’s like to lose it.”

I believe him, folks. I believe him.

‘We the People’ or the Political Elite

/in , , /by

“We the People,” those symbolic words mean that for the first time in world history, a government was set up to not only recognize the God given rights of you and I, but also operate according to that most worthy premise “We the People.”  Unfortunately, the progressive political elitists have reversed the role and mission of the federal government.  So now, it is a rogue anti unalienable rights regime that only looks out for illegal immigrants, American born thugs, and anyone who is on a mission to destroy our exceptional nation way of life.

The federal government is most certainly rouge and is now a clear and present danger to the very continuation of our republic turned mob ruled democracy.  Not only is the federal government, but increasingly, state and local government are working diligently to obstruct the ability of sovereign citizens to live free from tyranny and to be the best that God would have them to be.

Often through government over regulations and draconian taxes people are obstructed from freely opening and running a family business.  Abusive government regulations are now so a stringent, they are literally choking the life out of what was at one time the most vibrant economy the world had ever known.

The latest round of proposed Environmental Protection Agency laws would at the very least increase household and small business energy bills 30 to 50 percent.  Why?  Because President Obama and others hate American greatness and power.  They are working overtime to use any method they can to destroy the United States.  Or at the very least, have her severely weakened and under the influence of islam by the time Obama leaves office.

The Obama administration is nothing more than a lightning rod of calculated destructive measures.  Some of which have practically destroyed a decent quality of life for not only black Americans, but increasingly for more and more Americans of all backgrounds.  The sad truth is, that some Americans are now too dumb to even understand just how screwed over they really are.

After five decades of indoctrination rom their liberal masters and a steady decrease in their standard of living, many psyched out black Americans are more enamored with running around carrying black lives matter signs, than building a good quality of life with their families and fellow Americans.

They are foolishly self-centered in their so-called progressive struggle, that they have the nerve to be upset because a presidential candidate and fellow progressive socialist stated that “all lives matter.”   To add insult to their stupid injury, the black socialist progressives even consider the “all lives matter” statement to be hate speech or a violent statement.   One has to wonder, what society can continue to remain great and economically prominent when millions of it’s brainwashed citizens are so bitter?  Then add in their low quality of cognitive functioning and increasing their numbers through breeding, what is occurring is a massive negative drain on our nation making us vulnerable to external enemies and economic collapse.

Unfortunately, far too many Americans have devolved into what the Bible refers to as those who would prefer to believe lies over the truth.  That is a direct result of at least five decades of unrelenting indoctrination of generations of American students against all that is good and morally correct.

There was a time if an individual chose to believe that he or she was entitled to someone else’s property and chose to rob them, I the were shot or beaten, that was considered just and no big deal.  But now, certain people are so off kilter morally, that brute force against an aggressive burglar is considered more horrendous than aborting innocent babies.

By the way, the black lives matter folks, President Obama and thugs can celebrate because local police forces have been prevented from going hard after thugs who choose to commit crimes against their fellow citizens.  So now, crime has dramatically increased in every city where there are substantial black populations.

In Chicago, over the past year murder of blacks by blacks is up 10 percent and rape has increased seven percent.  In Las Angeles, violent crime is up 20 percent year after year.  In Cleveland, the city is going through a tremendous revival downtown and in many neighborhoods that are not populated by mostly black Americans.  But in the city’s notorious east side, (with the exception of University Circle and Little Italy) is a black dominated war zone where they are seemingly bumping each other off for the sport of it.

Such developments or devolutions are the direct result of a wholesale rejection of morality and the Biblical principles that were the foundational building blocks of all that was great about this nation.  The continued dangerous practice of repudiating that which is good is literally destroying our republic.

Only through the rejection of that which is evil and learning about and accepting the good, will America have even a chance of once again becoming that shining city on a hill nation.

The choice is completely up to “We the People” not the political elites.

U.S. State Department: 8,000 Syrian Muslims to arrive in FY 2016

/in , , /by

That is according to Breitbart (hat tip: Rosemary).   It is a huge number, but I think they will go for even greater numbers since their contractor friends and 14 U.S. Senators are recommending 65,000!

Here is Breitbart:

The State Department is anticipating that the U.S. will admit up to 8,000 Syrian refugees in Fiscal Year 2016.

In written responses to the Senate Judiciary Immigration and the National Interest Subcommittee Republicans obtained by Breitbart News, the State Department reveals that it is expecting the U.S. will accelerate its acceptance of Syrian refugees next year.

“As of July 30, the United States has admitted 1,042 Syrian refugees in FY 2015 and anticipates admitting a total of 1,500-1,800 Syrians this fiscal year. We anticipate admitting 5,000-8,000 Syrian refugees in FY 2016,” the State Department wrote.

The Obama administration’s effort to resettle thousands of Syrian refugees into the U.S. has come under fire as a potential national security risk.

Here is David Miliband, CEO of U.S. resettlement contractor the International Rescue Committee, pushing for 65,000 (mostly Muslim) Syrians to be sent to your towns and cities before Obama leaves office.

RELATED ARTICLES:

Germany: Muslim ‘Refugees’ riot, stone police over torn Qur’an, 15 wounded

The Debate Over Birthright Citizenship, Explained in 90 Seconds

VIDEO: The Obama administration’s anti-Christian, pro-Islam bias explained by Raymond Ibrahim

/in , , , /by

Last week I appeared on Newsmax Prime, hosted by JD Hayworth and Miranda Khan.  We discussed how the West in general, the Obama administration in particular, not only ignore but exacerbate the plight of Mideast Christians.  The six-minute clip is above.

RELATED ARTICLES:

Geller: I’m Getting Death Threats Daily — and the FBI Is Warning About… Me

Islamic State links its origins to the killing of Osama and U.S. withdrawal from Iraq

Germany: ‘Refugees’ riot, stone police over torn Qur’an, 15 wounded

/in , , , , /by

These people are going to be a marvelous addition to German society.

“Riot over disrespect to Holy Quran left 15 wounded in Germany,” Khaama Press, August 20 2015 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

A riot erupted among asylum seekers at a refugee center in Germany leaving 15 people wounded including Afghans.

The riot reportedly erupted after a refugee tore pages from the Holy Quran prompting anger of some 20 other residents in the refugee center in Suhl city of Thuringen State on Wednesday evening.

Police say the confrontation escalated into a riot and around 100 refugees took part in it.

125 police officers were dispatched to the area to break the brawl but they also came under the attack from refugees and were pelted with sticks and stones.

Four police officers, two badly, and 11 refugees were wounded in the clash.

Seven police vehicles were also damaged during the riot that took around four hours to come under control.

According to the officials, the person who tore pages from the Holy Quran had arrived from Afghanistan. Police took him into custody for his own safety.

In other words, they arrested the one who violated Sharia blasphemy law, not the rioters.

RELATED ARTICLES:

Pakistan Muslim leader exhorted Muslims to kill Hindus

UK: Jihadi free to roam streets as interpreters are abandoned to Taliban

U.S. Set to Block Aid to Pakistan for Failing to Crack Down on Terrorist Group

The Biggest Bomb Thrower of All

/in , , , , /by

With all the talk about political “civility” directed at the GOP by those in the mainstream media, I find it a bit ironic that their ire isn’t directed at the biggest rhetorical bomb-thrower of them all: President Barack Obama.

It’s time for us all (myself included) to abandon the idea that President Obama is just a good guy supporting bad policies. Having been a Secret Service agent on his protective detail, it is not easy for me to concede this, but it is necessary. I have a personal attachment to Barack Obama, likely developed through years of interactions while on his detail, and despite the litany of disastrous policies emanating from his White House; it has always been tough for me to believe that he is not a “nice guy.”

I can recall a number of television and phone interviews where I forcefully defended the President personally (not ideologically), after which I received a deluge of emails from people upset that I was doing so. After witnessing his latest in a series of low-blow rhetorical attacks on his political opposition, however, I’ve regretfully come to the conclusion that he is simply not the man I thought he was.

I’ve been frustrated and upset at him in the past, for destroying our healthcare system (and cancelling my insurance policy in the process), taxing away any chance of an economic recovery, and for forcing the tentacles of the government deeper into my life and yours; but I’ve always cooled and settled on the idea that while he was an ideologue and poor leader, he remained a generally decent guy. But decent men and women do not stand in front of the world, before the most powerful bully pulpit in the history of mankind, and act and speak as he does.

Attacking political opponents in the Washington DC political cesspool is nothing new or earth shattering but, the rhetoric used by this President to speak about his political opposition is close to unprecedented.

To prove my point, here are some of President Obama’s low lights:

  • On political opposition to the disastrous Iran deal, and a joint opposition letter drafted to the Iranians, President Obama stated, respectively, that hegemonic, Iranian extremists were “making common cause with the Republican caucus.”  And, “I’m embarrassed for them.”
  • On political supporters of common-sense voter ID requirements, President Obama stated, “The real voter fraud is people who try to deny our rights by making bogus arguments about voter fraud.”
  • On political supporters of right-to-work legislation, President Obama stated they are “are more concerned about German shareholders than American workers.”
  • On Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren’s opposition to Trade Promotion Authority, President Obama stated “the truth of the matter is that Elizabeth is, you know, a politician like everybody else.”
  • On Fox News’ coverage of the struggling economy, President Obama stated, “We’re going to have to change how our body politic thinks, which means we’re going to have to change how the media reports on these issues.”
  • On those who oppose his continued attacks on the Second Amendment, President Obama stated, “As long as there are those who fight to make it as easy as possible for dangerous people to get their hands on a gun, then we’ve got to work as hard as possible for the sake of our children.”
  • On political opposition to his massive debt and deficits, President Obama stated, “it’s encouraged our enemies, it’s emboldened our competitors”
  • On political opposition to Obamacare, President Obama accused opponents of “exploiting fears instead of getting things done.”

Truth be told, I am an emotional person who takes assaults on our liberties and freedoms personally, and I have been known, on talk-radio, television, and in print, to loudly call out the Left for their three-front war on our future; but I’m not trying to be the “nice guy,” I’m trying to sound the alarm about the danger we are in. So, in going forward, let’s dispense with the mainstream media nonsense about how “nice” of a guy President Obama is and focus on the real man behind the ideology—a man who, I truly believe, is angry, resentful, and bitter towards those who cherish freedom, liberty, and a limited-government which enables the limitless flourishing of individuals.

EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared in the Conservative Review. The feature image is by Carolyn Kaster | AP Photo.

Saudi Arabia on Religious Freedom: Butt out. Stay out. Keep out. Got it?

/in , , , , /by

blasphemy lawsSaudi Arabia shows its jaw-dropping hypocrisy as it moves to impose “anti-blasphemy” laws on the non-Muslim world.

That’s the message from Saudi Arabia. Do not meddle in their internal affairs.

If they want to lop off heads, leave them alone. If they want to flog their apostates, what’s that to you? And if they want to shred the hands of people reading the Bible, at least they’re not your hands.

So shut up.

Canadian officials heard that message loudly when they decided to criticize Saudi Arabia for torturing a blogger, Raif Badawi, with 1,000 lashes for criticizing the kingdom’s religious clerics.

The Saudi ambassador told Canada’s National Assembly that his country “does not accept any form of interference in its internal affairs.”

Sweden tried the same thing. Its foreign minister described the flogging of Badawi as a “cruel attempt to silence modern forms of expression.”

Sweden got the same royal treatment. Saudi Arabia stomped its feet in the sand and called the criticism a “flagrant interference in internal affairs.”

But just try building a church there.

We out here in the free world should all get it. Don’t try swimming in the sands of Saudi Arabia.

Then why should we pay any attention to a Saudi attempt to meddle in our affairs?

Last month the Saudi director-general for external relations called on all nations – yes, all nations – to adopt laws banning “blasphemy.”

In a wordy statement, Director-General Sheikh Abdul Majeed Al-Omari declared:

“We have made it clear that freedom of expression without limits or restrictions would lead to violation and abuse of religious and ideological rights. This requires everyone to criminalize insulting heavenly religions, prophets, holy books, religious symbols and places of worship.”

This is stupid on so many levels that the Kingdom should be renamed the King-dumb.

First, they voice concern that freedom of expression could somehow lead to the abuse of religious and ideological rights. They need to get down off their high camels and examine the stupidity of this statement.

Saudi Arabia doesn’t need to look “outside” to find freedom of expression leading to the abuse of religious and ideological rights.

It only needs to look inside. It can start by pointing its camel-nose directly at Raif Badawi, whose only crime was to write insulting blog posts about Saudi religious clerics.

So here’s the thinking, in all its Saudi logic. It’s the only way their statement could possibly make sense:

Raif Badawi wrote blog material that King-dumb authorities say involved “ridiculing Islamic religious figures” and “going beyond the realm of disobedience.”

For this crime of expressing himself freely, Badawi was sentenced to 1,000 lashes, to be meted out 50 lashes per week for 20 weeks. This is abuse – no doubt. So do you see? Freedom of expression can lead to the “abuse of religious and ideological rights.”

It’s twisted logic, but what else can we expect from the twisted minds of the Saudis, who still believe that Christians are “swine” and that Jews are “apes”?

In his demand that all nations adopt blasphemy laws, the director-general also wants to “criminalize insulting heavenly religions, prophets, holy books, religious symbols and places of worship.”

What? Noble? A girl?

This bold statement comes from a nation that criminalizes apostasy, carrying a Bible, building churches and – get this – naming a child Alice, Sandy or Lauren. These are “blasphemous names” in Saudi Arabia, which means that to bestow one of them on your offspring is to risk a date with the swordsman.

Alice is forbidden because it means “noble.” Only the Saudi royalty is noble, you understand, not some pipsqueak baby girl. Sandy means “defender of men.” So it’s obvious why that name is banned. Lauren means “crowned with laurels.” When’s the last time you’ve seen the Saudis crown a girl?

In fact, there are 50 “blasphemous” names in Saudi Arabia.

Should the Saudis really be in charge of leading the world on criminalizing blasphemy? This is a country that still will not let women drive. It’s punishable by up to 10 lashes.

Imagine what a Saudi-like, anti-blasphemy police force would be like:

“Ms. Patterson you are hereby guilty of carrying a Bible into a church while holding a baby named Sandy. That’s three strikes. And oh, by the way, are those car keys in your hand?”

In 2012, the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia declared that it is “necessary to destroy all the churches of the region.”

Does that not sound a little blasphemous to you? If I were to say that all mosques should be destroyed, I would be lined up right behind Ms. Patterson at the block in Chop-Chop Square.

So, to be clear, Saudi Arabia isn’t about criminalizing insults to all “places of worship.” It is only about criminalizing blasphemy against the places of Islamicworship. For in the twisted minds of the King-dumb, there is only one “place of worship,” which is the abode of Allah – not Jesus Christ, the Heavenly Father or the Holy Spirit.

Christian and Jewish places of worship? Have at it. These other “places of worship” do not exist and are therefore impossible to blaspheme.

Understanding the religious logic of the Saudis is not easy, unless you accept that “logic,” to them, is only that which benefits Islam. What might appear to be an edict protecting all religions is, in reality, only a deaf-dumb-and-blind safeguard for their own religion.

The King-dumb doesn’t want anyone meddling in their affairs, but they want to freely meddle in the affairs of others, and even dictate them.

I would like to call the Saudi royalty a bunch of yo-yos, but that would be an insult to the beloved child’s toy. A yo-yo at least knows how to stay on its own string.

Exiled Iranian Activist Amir Fakhravar says Stop the Iran Nuke Deal

/in , , , /by
amir fakhravar small

Amir Fakhravar

Amir Fakhravar is an exiled Iranian activist, award winning writer and recipient of the Annie Taylor Award. Amir is our featured guest on today’s short promotional for the “DAY OF ACTION” in Santa Barbara, California on Sunday Aug 30, 2015.

Amir Fakhravar is the Founder and President of the Iranian Freedom Institute.

You MUST listening to his frightening story of being imprisoned in Iran!

Join us in STOPPING THE IRAN DEAL!

We have TWO amazing events on August 30th!

The first is a Roundtable Luncheon featuring a panel of national and local experts on the Iran Treaty, on the U.S. and Israel and how it will affect Santa Barbara County. Tickets are $60. Sponsorships are available at different levels. A ticket to the lunch gets you a VIP seat at the rally (details below). If you are not able to attend but would like to donate (100% tax-deductible) to help offset to costs of this grassroots effort, it would be appreciated. To purchase tickets, to sponsor or to donate, go to: StopIran.eventbrite.com

After the lunch, there will be a Stop Iran NOW Rally at the Santa Barbara Courthouse Sunken Gardens co-hosted by Stand With Us, The Clarion Project, The United West and other local groups. The rally is FREE and we need as many people as possible to attend. Please forward to your friends, family, neighbors and co-workers. It’s up to US to stop this deal! Signs and flags will be provided.

RELATED ARTICLE: Why Obama’s Wrong: Iran Deal Would Make War More Likely

President Obama’s Latest Treachery on Iran Nuclear Deal

/in , , /by

It has been a spectacular week for Russia and Iran.  Monday, Foreign Ministers Lavrov and Russia and Mohammed Javad Zarif meet in Moscow given the success of the JCPOA negotiations and UN Security Council endorsement to discuss listing weapons sanctions and ways to shore up the flagging fortunes of ally Bashar Assad in bloody Syria, the junior partner in the so-called Axis of Resistance.  That was followed by the announcement of an agreement to deliver on an expedited basis, four versions of the mobile S-300 advanced air defense system for $900 million.  Reuters first reported that Iran plans to sign a contract for four of the S-300 Russian missiles next week.”The text of the contract is ready and our friends will go to Russia next week to sign the contract,” Iran Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan reportedly said.  The earlier version of the S-300 systems were purchased in 2007, but not delivered because of objections by both Israel and the U.S.  Further sales of conventional Arms and missile technology were barred under the 2010 UN Security Council resolution.

A member of the Russian forces guards in front of surface-to-air S300 missiles in a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile unit on the Cape of Fiolent in Sevastopol on March 5, 2014. A military source has told Interfax-Ukraine that Russian commandos have seized control of the anti-aircraft missile systems and are guarding them. AFP PHOTO/ VIKTOR DRACHEV

A member of the Russian forces guards in front of surface-to-air S300 missiles in a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile unit on the Cape of Fiolent in Sevastopol on March 5, 2014. A military source has told Interfax-Ukraine that Russian commandos have seized control of the anti-aircraft missile systems and are guarding them. AFP PHOTO/ VIKTOR DRACHEV

The S-300 systems basically provides an anti-Missile shield of Iran’s “peaceful “ nuclear program against any U.S./Israeli aircraft  or medium range ballistic missile attack according to  the Pentagon.  Fox News reported “We have long expressed our concerns over reports of the possible sale of this missile system to the Iranians,” Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis told Fox News. Further that “is a very capable weapons system that can bring down U.S. or Israeli jet aircraft.”

How capable are the new S-300 system?   Note this Washington Free Beacon report:

According to the defense website Deagel, the S-300V4 missile system is “1.5 to 2.3 times more effective” than previous systems “in its anti-missile defense capabilities.” The system is “capable of shooting down medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBM) with a maximum range of 2,500 kilometers.”

All this stemmed from the July 24th meeting in Moscow by Iran’s controversial Quds Force director Gen. Soleimani with Russian President Putin and Defense Minister Shogui endeavoring to expedite these deliveries of S-300 air defense systems and other weapon systems, including advanced Russian jet fighters to replace aging US fighters from the era of the Late Shah. That would complement the deliveries of Chinese stealth Jet fighters under a $10 Billion oil barter agreement. While objecting to the Russian sale to Iran of advanced S-300 missile deal, State Department press spokesman Admiral  John Kirby suggested  that it was excluded from the JCPOA terms lifting  both  conventional weapons and missile technology  sanctions under the 2010  UN  Resolution 1929 five and year  sunsets provisions.

Parchin Test Site 7-2015

Parchin Iran Military Explosives Test Site.

Then there was the exclusive AP report of its examination of one of the secret side deals between Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The AP had been given access to the secret deal by a senior official of the IAEA on conditions of anonymity. The AP report of its examination of the secret side deal revealed   that it gave Tehran, the authority to use its own inspectors to deliver findings on alleged prior military developments for explosive nuclear triggers at the contested military site of Parchin. Iran for years had barred  IAEA inspectors access to Parchin and other known sites under the pretext that it would violate the Islamic Regime’s national security.  U.S. Intelligence has recently said that digital photos show the site being ‘sanitized”. The board of the IAEA, including the US and some of the P5+1 partners,  contemplate acceptance under the terms of the JCPOA  lifting upwards of $100 billion plus in sanctions relief slated for December of this  year based on the delivery of the PMD inspection reports. The reactions of the White House and presumably President Obama on vacation on the offshore island of Martha’s Vineyard stretch credulity.  They simply repeated the explanations by the President and White House press spokesperson Josh Earnest dismissing issues of trustworthiness of Iran’s Mullahs. The meme was the highly intrusive and robust IAEA inspection regime of the JCPOA would catch Iranian cheating instantly enabling punitive snapback of sanctions.

When  queried by journalists at yesterday’s State Department Daily Press Briefings, Press Spokesperson, Admiral John Kirby contended that  the IAEA  Director General Amano briefed both Chambers of Congress in closed door sessions on IAEA Iran inspection terms stating that the side deals  were “routine” and exemplary of the “robust intrusive” inspection regime. Further, he repeated the line that the US and other P5+1 already knew what Iran did a decade ago in prior military developments in violation of the non-proliferation treaty.  These PMD reports by the IAEA were to establish a baseline for the “intrusive, robust” inspections over the 10, 15 and 25 terms of the JCPOA. Now, given the AP report on this secret side deal between the IAEA and Iran it is questionable whether the entire agreement can assure any compliance by Iran.

Watch this C-Span video clip of State Department spokesman Admiral John Kirby at yesterday’s Daily Press Briefing:

The reaction from Republican leaders in both Chambers was incredulity.  That was underlined by statements by two experts on nuclear inspections, former IAEA Deputy Director Ollie Heinonen of Harvard’s Belfer Center and David Albright of Washington, DC –based, Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS). The AP report on the IAEA side deal with Iran noted these comments:

House Speaker John Boehner said, “President Obama boasts his deal includes ‘unprecedented verification.’ He claims it’s not built on trust. But the administration’s briefings on these side deals have been totally insufficient – and it still isn’t clear whether anyone at the White House has seen the final documents.” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce: “International inspections should be done by international inspectors. Period.” John Cornyn of Texas, the second-ranking Republican senator, said, “Trusting Iran to inspect its own nuclear site and report to the U.N. in an open and transparent way is remarkably naive and incredibly reckless. This revelation only reinforces the deep-seated concerns the American people have about the agreement.”

The Israel Project Daily Report noted Heinonen stating “that he knew of no other instance in which a country under scrutiny was allowed to conduct its own investigation.” Albright of ISIS, “called this arrangement “unprecedented and risky.” Albright warned that “ambiguity over Iran’s nuclear weaponization accomplishments and residual capabilities risks rendering an agreement unverifiable by the IAEA.”

Notwithstanding these developments Democrat Senators continued signing up yesterday signed up in support of the President’s nuclear pact with Iran.  Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey, who succeeded Senator Kerry, said in a statement to the Boston Globe, yesterday:

I have concluded that diplomacy remains our best tool to secure a nuclear-weapon-free Iran, That’s why I intend to support the Iran nuclear agreement when it comes before Congress in September.”

This agreement is far from perfect and carries risks. But I believe our negotiators achieved as much as they reasonably could, and that if strictly implemented, this plan can be effective.

In contrast to Markey and other loyal Democrat Senators, we suggest that they heed the warning of colleague New Jersey Democrat Robert Menendez at his Seton Hall University address:” Hope is not a national security initiative … if Iran is to acquire a nuclear bomb, it will not have my name on it”.

The perfidy of the Obama Administration is exposed each day, yet the cupidity his claque of supporters of the Iran nuclear pact in the Congress like Senator Markey and other Democrats in both Chambers of Congress is appalling.  Witness the mind numbing comment by House minority leader, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA: “I truly believe in this agreement”.

EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared in the New English Review. The featured image is of Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov in Moscow on August 18, 2015.

Did You Know that on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list 9 are Muslims and one is a Black Woman?

/in , , , , /by

fbi most crime causes by gangs graphicHave you ever wondered why the bad guys in movies, on TV and in the daily news are white Anglo-Saxon Protestants? Do you wonder why the Obama administrations Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) policy does not mention Muslims, jihad or Islam. Are you frustrated by what you see happening in places like Ferguson, Missouri where blacks are allowed to loot and burn, and the police get all of the blame?

The Department of Homeland Security defines Domestic Terrorism as:

Any act of violence that is dangerous to human life or potentially destructive of critical infrastructure or key resources committed by a group or individual based and operating entirely within the United States or its territories without direction or inspiration from a foreign terrorist group. [Emphasis added]

Well, perhaps it is time to look at the facts as listed on the FBI’s own website to learn who the terrorists really are.

joanne deborah chesimard

Joanne Chesimard

The FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list consists of 9 Muslims and one black woman. We all know that it is Muslims who are predominantly terrorists, except in Hollywood movies. The 9 Muslims listed were definitely inspired by foreign terrorist groups.

However, it was the black woman who caught my attention. Her name is Joanne Deborah Chesimard. She is wanted for: an act of terrorism, domestic terrorism, unlawful flight to avoid confinement and murder. There is a reward: The FBI is offering a reward of up to $1,000,000 for information directly leading to the apprehension of Joanne Chesimard. Here is her description according to the FBI:

Joanne Chesimard is wanted for escaping from prison in Clinton, New Jersey, while serving a life sentence for murder. On May 2, 1973, Chesimard, who was part of a revolutionary extremist organization known as the Black Liberation Army, and two accomplices were stopped for a motor vehicle violation on the New Jersey Turnpike by two troopers with the New Jersey State Police. At the time, Chesimard was wanted for her involvement in several felonies, including bank robbery. Chesimard and her accomplices opened fire on the troopers. One trooper was wounded and the other was shot and killed execution-style at point-blank range. Chesimard fled the scene, but was subsequently apprehended. One of her accomplices was killed in the shoot-out and the other was also apprehended and remains in jail.

In 1977, Chesimard was found guilty of first degree murder, assault and battery of a police officer, assault with a dangerous weapon, assault with intent to kill, illegal possession of a weapon, and armed robbery. She was sentenced to life in prison. On November 2, 1979, Chesimard escaped from prison and lived underground before being located in Cuba in 1984. She is thought to currently still be living in Cuba.

She may wear her hair in a variety of styles and dress in African tribal clothing.

Black_Liberation_Army_(emblem)The Black Liberation Army is an off shoot of the Black Panthers. According to the Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium:

The Black Liberation Army (BLA) was an underground, black nationalist militant organization that operated from 1970 to 1981. Composed largely of former Black Panthers, the organization’s program was one of armed struggle for the “liberation and self-determination of black people in the United States.”  The Black Liberation Army developed as a splinter group of the Black Panther Party. Founded by followers of Eldridge Cleaver, as a response to what the more violent factions of the Black Panthers perceived as “selling out” the “armed struggle”  under the leadership of Huey Newton.The BLA carried out a series of bombings, murders, robberies, and prison breaks.

[ … ]

Black Liberation Army (BLA) – United States, also known as Afro-American Liberation Army is an inactive group formed c. 1970.

Perhaps Hollywood, TV producers, the media and President Obama need to understand who is, and who is not, a terrorist. They aren’t white Anglo-Saxon Protestants.

RELATED ARTICLE: Muslim U.S. Navy Engineer Busted Red-Handed in Major Act of Treason

A Question of Patriotism

/in , , , /by

The more we Americans began hearing about the possible nuclear pact with the Islamic Republic of Iran, aka “the Iran deal,” and the more President Obama saw that Americans of all faiths and political opinions realized that the pact was not in our best interest, and the more we heard the old anti-Semitic canards from the White House and the media. Things soured for Obama when Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cautioned against this arrangement, clarifying that the funding of $150 billion for Iran, with cash assets, sanctions relief, and all strings severed could serve to fund its global terrorism operation and defense. In essence, we would be subsidizing Iran’s undertakings and boost its efforts to eradicate Israel. Obama is also setting the stage to turn U.S. citizens against American Jews, a tactic that Jews have experienced through the centuries.

To simplify, America was in a position to be the victor with an agreement to prevent Iran’s becoming a nuclear power, force it to dismantle much of its nuclear infrastructure, prevent it from enriching uranium, close the Fordo enrichment facility, demand that Iran expose all past nuclear activities, close its Inter-continental Ballistic Missile Program (ICBMs aimed at our continent), allow round-the-clock inspections, and continue sanctions until all conditions were met.

Rather, the deal has been called “utterly disastrous.” Kerry agreed to lifting sanctions so that Iran could join the global market and sell oil, all the while increasing our own debt and weakening our own economy by gifting our closet collaborator with $150 billion – he’s bonding with the Islamic entity. By lifting the conventional arms embargo and allowing Iranians to flout the travel ban, Iran could secure more weapons and imperil Israel, “the Little Satan.” It wouldn’t even take much to have their brainwashed, suicidal adults and children detonate themselves in a crowd of Israeli children, shoppers, and general work force.  The contract would also allow the lifting of sanctions over Iranian ICBMs after eight years, thereby providing Iran with the means to target the United States, the “Great Satan,” although ineffective provisos would actually free Iran from obligations far sooner – a matter of months.

Instead of the 24/7 inspection America originally stipulated, Iran gets a 24-days’ notice, during which they may move or conceal their activities. Even now, UN inspectors (not to include Americans and Canadians) may not speak with key scientists and military officers about concealed operations. Submission to these stipulations reveals America’s cooperation in the face of Islamic tyranny.

As more Americans voiced their opposition to the pact, the more often we heard snide statements, such as AP’s references to “the money,” and “the lobbyists,” deviously implying that Jews were the only ones to differ with our US government. One of the oldest lies in the world is again in use, as in the past, to provoke pogroms against Jews by classifying them as unfaithful citizens. We hear nefarious references to the “Jewish lobby,” but never the “Arab lobby,” which brings in the unvetted, possibly jihadist, immigrants, the gradual changes in our schools to install Sharia, the 102 million working-age Americans unemployed, the $818 billion taken from Medicare to fund Obamacare, the refusal to submit a budget to prevent the collapse of Social Security, the blatant disregard for our Constitution, and the growing evidence of treason in the White House.

People of all faiths and convictions weighed in against the pact with the terrorist nation. Christians United for Israel (CUFI) stands firmly against making a deal with an entity whose citizens are hair-trigger ready to re-enact another 9/11 or Benghazi, or any of the numerous attacks on Israeli citizens, with cries of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.” Our nation’s veterans have come out against the deal as well. In fact, an overwhelming majority of Americans do not want to sign a pact with the Islamic Republic, and our administration is betraying the will of the majority of the people. But armed with pen and phone, the undeterred Obama warned that he would implement the deal regardless of Congress, and that he would make life miserable for those who oppose him.

When non-Jewish democrats, Juan Vargas (CA), Albio Sires (NJ) and Grace Meng (NY), voiced their opposition, Obama could not lash out at an ethnicity. But once the anti-Semitic hate speech was unleashed, an administration’s pro-deal twitter account began using more blatant Jew-hatred attacks, which was soon to be followed by the New York Times, with its roughly half-dozen “Jewish” references and a smear against Senator Chuck Schumer. Obama provoked a bigoted campaign, calling Schumer a traitor, warmonger, and Israeli agent.  Unaccountably, the majority of Jewish voters have blindly and deafly supported Obama in all his problematic demands, and polls show that twice as many Americans, including the Jews, are against the deal, believing it will lead to a more dangerous world.

Yet it is times like these that the President resorts to blatant bigotry and accusations that Jews have dual loyalty, a tactic designed to discourage, silence, and intimidate Jews from acting in their own behalf, lest they be seen as unpatriotic – an efficient, centuries-old technique.  Obama has gone so far as to accuse Israel, and Netanyahu specifically, for meddling in America’s business, although it wasn’t so long ago that Obama meddled in Israel’s elections and threatened to tie Israel’s hands. He is determined to continue his modus operandi, “divide and conquer,” to defy and coerce those who work against his “diplomatic triumph.” This will undoubtedly be extended to demonize the Tea Party, AIPAC and other Jewish groups, and go so far as to vandalize, audit and sue them. The threats have been issued – capitulate or be destroyed.

The word is out: President Obama sent then-Senate Foreign Affairs Committee chairman John Kerry to Iran four years ago, and he promised them the bomb.  The Washington Free Beacon reported, “President Barack Obama approved of Iran’s right to operate a nuclear program in 2011 during secret meetings with Iranian officials, according to new disclosures by Iran’s Supreme Leader.” Khamenei also revealed in a recent speech that talks began in secret with the anti-Semitic, Holocaust-denying former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

It is not the Jews who are unpatriotic.

Is the “Libertarian Moment” Over? by David Boaz

/in , , , /by

That’s the question Dave Weigel asks at the Washington Post. His premise is that Rand Paul’s presidential campaign seems to have slowed down, so maybe that means any “libertarian moment” has passed. (I’d say Weigel asks, but doesn’t answer, the question.)

Nick Gillespie of Reason correctly tells Weigel that ideological movements and moments aren’t tied to any one political leader: “It’s a mistake to conflate Rand Paul’s electoral success with that of the libertarian moment.”

Gillespie also says Paul would be more successful if he were more libertarian:

Rand Paul’s high visibility is better understood as a consequence of the libertarian moment than its cause. There’s a reason why he’s been at his most electrifying and popular precisely when he is at his most libertarian: calling out the surveillance state, for instance, and leading the charge against reckless interventions in Syria and Libya.

And:

“Hopefully his father’s endorsement will goad him to become THE libertarian alternative,” says Gillespie, “rather than the seventh or eighth or 10th most conservative candidate in the GOP race.”

And of course the election is just beginning. The Donald Trump circus has dominated the past month, but eventually the differences between serious candidates such as Bush, Walker, and Paul will get more attention. And in that competition Paul’s “libertarianish” approach will stand out against a dozen candidates racing to the right.

Weigel isn’t the first to raise the question of whether the rise of ISIS, with its brutal videos, set back a rising tide of non-interventionist sentiment among American voters. As I told Weigel, “I still think the growing aversion to intervention will reassert itself reasonably soon.” The temporary success of ISIS won’t wipe out 15 years of war-weariness. As soon as February, when the voting starts, voters may be reverting to their skepticism about intervention.

Ed Crane has written in the Wall Street Journal and elsewhere that a plurality of Americans support free enterprise, social tolerance, and “a healthy skepticism of foreign military adventurism.”

David Brooks wrote recently that the swing voters in 2016 will be people who don’t think big government is the path to economic growth and don’t know why a presidential candidate would open his campaign at Jerry Falwell’s university.

Those are the voters who push American politics in a libertarian direction.

You can see that libertarian direction in this chart put together by David Bier, who elaborated on what it shows here:

In any case, we shouldn’t judge freedom by what politicians and voters are doing in any particular year.

We live in a world where we have extended the promises of the Declaration of Independence to more people — gay people can get married! — where we have all the knowledge in the history of the world in our pockets, where politicians and police are increasingly monitored, where unregulated or lightly regulated technologies are challenging comfortable monopolies.

Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch have taken the idea of “the libertarian moment” far beyond politics and elections, as in this article that I quoted in the introduction to The Libertarian Reader:

We are in fact living at the cusp of what should be called the Libertarian Moment, the dawning not of some fabled, clichéd, and loosey-goosey Age of Aquarius but a time of increasingly hyper-individualized, hyper-expanded choice over every aspect of our lives, from 401(k)s to hot and cold running coffee drinks, from life-saving pharmaceuticals to online dating services.

This is now a world where it’s more possible than ever to live your life on your own terms; it’s an early rough draft version of the libertarian philosopher Robert Nozick’s glimmering “utopia of utopias.”

Due to exponential advances in technology, broad-based increases in wealth, the ongoing networking of the world via trade and culture, and the decline of both state and private institutions of repression, never before has it been easier for more individuals to chart their own course and steer their lives by the stars as they see the sky. …

This new century of the individual, which makes the Me Decade look positively communitarian in comparison, will have far-reaching implications wherever individuals swarm together in commerce, culture, or politics. …

The Internet alone has created entire new economies, modes of scattered and decentralized organization and work, and a hyper-individualization that would have shocked the Founding Fathers.

And of course if we move beyond the United States to the world at large, it’s pretty clear that the large trends in the world — not without counter-trends — are toward human rights, women’s rights, gay rights, democratic governance, and freer markets.

If we’re not quite in a libertarian moment, we’re in a libertarianish era.

David Boaz

David Boaz is executive vice president of the Cato Institute. He is the editor of The Libertarian Reader, editor of The Cato Handbook for Policymakers, and author of The Politics of Freedom.

EDITORS NOTE: This post first appeared at Cato.org.

VIDEO: Planned Parenthood Dissects a Baby Boy’s Brain after Watching His Heart Beating

/in , , , /by

The Center for Medical Progress released the 3rd documentary episode and 7th video total in their exposé of Planned Parenthood’s sale of aborted baby parts.

In this new video, with some calling it the most disturbing yet, former harvesting technician Holly O’Donnell describes how the heart of a late-term baby boy at Planned Parenthood’s mega-clinic in San Jose, CA started beating again after her supervisor tapped on it. Holly was then told to cut through the baby’s face to get his brain.

heart alive fetusCMP investigators learned during the 2.5-year-long Human Capital study that born-alive infants are a shockingly common phenomenon in the abortion industry. It is made more common when fetal organs are being harvested because doctors must not poison the baby, yet also extract him or her as intact as possible—intact, an intact and live delivery is the outrageous “best case scenario” for organ harvesting.

ABOUT THE CENTER FOR MEDICAL PROGRESS

The Center for Medical Progress is a 501(c)3 non-profit and we rely on your generous support to continue producing and releasing video and other evidence from our 30-month-long investigative journalism study on Planned Parenthood’s sale of baby parts.

EDITORS NOTE: According to the Protest Planned Parenthood website, the following protests are planned for Florida this Saturday from 9-11am local time unless otherwise noted for a different time in certain locations:

Boca Raton

Planned Parenthood, 8177 Glades Road (map)
Sponsor: Christian on a Mission
Contact the local leader

Fort Myers

Planned Parenthood, 8595 College Parkway (map)
Contact the local leader

Gainesville

Planned Parenthood, 914 NW 13th Street (map)
Sponsor: Pray for Life Network
Contact the local leader

Jacksonville

Planned Parenthood, 5978 Powers Avenue (map)
Contact the local leader

Kissimmee

Planned Parenthood, 610 Oak Commons Blvd. (map)
Note: This protest will be from 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Sponsor: Stop Planned Parenthood Kissimmee
Contact the local leader

Lakeland

Planned Parenthood, 2250 E. Edgewood Drive (map)
Sponsor: Christ Church Lakeland
Contact the local leader

Miami

Planned Parenthood – Kendall Health Center, 11440 SW 88th Street (map)
Sponsor: Catholic Disciples in the Public Square
Contact the local leader

Orlando

Planned Parenthood, 726 S. Tampa Avenue (map)
Sponsor: Pro-Life Action Ministries
Contact the local leader

Pembroke Pines

Planned Parenthood, 263 N. University Drive (map)
Contact the local leader

Sarasota

Planned Parenthood, 736 Central Avenue (map)
Contact the local leader

St. Petersburg

Planned Parenthood, 8950 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street N. (map)
NOTE: This protest will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Contact the local leader

Stuart

Planned Parenthood, 1322 NW Federal Highway (map)
Note: This protest will be from 9:30 – 11:00 a.m.
Contact the local leader

Tampa

Planned Parenthood, 8068 N. 56th Street (map)
Contact the local leader

West Palm Beach

Planned Parenthood, 931 Village Boulevard (map)
Contact the local leader

For more information about the purpose and goal of these protests, please read a portion of the mission statement from ProtestPP:

“ProtestPP is a coalition of pro-life groups calling for a National Day of Protest on August 22, 2015 at Planned Parenthood facilities all across America. The four main sponsors are: Created Equal, the Pro-Life Action League, 40 Days for Life, and Citizens for a Pro-Life Society.

The National Day of Protest will strengthen local efforts by raising their profile with the local press, the community and other pro-life activists. Together, the protests held on August 22 will put pressure on the media, both local and national, to report the truth about Planned Parenthood, and on government officials to stop funding this discredited organization.”