By Scott Tibbs, June 13, 2008
♣ This story is absolutely sickening. A 12-year-old has a "degenerative bone condition said to have left her with the spine of an 80-year-old woman", and "is said to have a severe form of rickets and to have suffered a number of fractured bones." Why? Because her parents are animal-rights fanatics. In their jihad, they neglected their daughter, bringing to mind Romans 1:28. "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient."
♣ Add the government in Indonesia to the list of people who never learned that appeasement does not work. A religious minority is being violently persecuted, and the solution is to ban that particular sect? Terrorists everywhere are emboldened by such stupid and cowardly actions. Rather than defuse the situation, Indonesia has made things worse. Far worse. Will we never learn? Are we doomed to repeat history?
♣ A round of applause for Republicans in Congress, who defeated a proposal by Democrats that "would have imposed a 25 percent tax on any 'unreasonable' profits of the five largest U.S. oil companies." This was nothing more than class warfare, cynically playing off resentment over high gas prices to score cheap political points.
♣ A judge banned the word rape in a sexual assault case, preventing the alleged victim to use the word to describe what happened to her. The Kansas City Star reports the judge believes "The defendant’s presumption of innocence and right to a fair trial trumps (Tory) Bowen’s right of free speech." One has to wonder if this is a backlash from the Duke lacrosse case, where Crystal Gail Mangum fabricated charges of "rape" and was aided by corrupt and disgraced ex-prosecutor Mike Nifong.
♣ The New York Times examines one of the freedoms that makes this country great and ensures future freedom: the right to free speech. Through free speech, we hold the government accountable, although some politicians would like to see our ability to criticize candidates and elected officials. Further, there are dangerous elements that advocate laws banning "hate speech", which many so-called "Western democracies" have already passed. We must always be vigilant in defending our Constitutional rights from these constant attacks.
