The Words of People Much Smarter than Me: Freedom

“The volition of [humanity] is free; this is a law of their existence, and the Lord cannot violate his own law; were he to do that, he would cease to be God. … This is a law which has always existed from all eternity, and will continue to exist throughout all the eternities to come. Every intelligent being must have the power of choice.”

-Brigham Young

Be Vigilant

Today’s going to be a particularly busy day for me, so this post isn’t going to be anything great. But I did want to share something with you that gave me quite a shock. There were three news stories yesterday that made my jaw and heart drop. You probably heard about them.

Vet's Patriotic Stickers Under Fire

Mansfield Flag Controversy Draws Worldwide Outrage

Couple: County Trying To Stop Home Bible Studies

Yesterday Glenn Beck did an expose on ACORN that sounded a lot like a conspiracy theory. He argued that there was a possibility some left-wing organizations are trying to overwhelm the government to the point that it will topple and socialism would rise from the ashes. I will embed the clip for your amusement. I asked my husband if he thought it was possible that there could be some enormous plan like that, or whether they were just taking a step by step approach to implementing socialist ideals. He answered that it didn’t matter. He’s right. And when I read the articles above, I realized that we are farther that direction than I had thought before. Little by little freedom is being restricted in favor of a “common good.” My friends, the greatest good comes from the greatest freedom. Speak up! Be vigilant! I desperately want my children to know the America that I love.

The Richness of Her Experience

I have not studied the decisions of President Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court, Judge Sonia Sotomayor. I will not speak about her record, because I don’t feel informed enough to help others understand it. I will point out that I disagree with her recent ruling on Ricci vs. DeStefano. The City of New Haven, Connecticut decided that their future promotion of firefighters would be based on a written test. They called in a consultant when formulating the test to be certain it was job related. The firefighters spend numerous hours and a lot of money preparing for the test. After it was over, the city decided that not enough minority candidates had passed, and denied the promotions to all the firefighters. The men who had worked so hard and earned the promotions sued. Judge Sotomayor heard the case on appeal and ruled against the firefighters. The Supreme Court has since heard the case and we’re awaiting their decision.

While the ruling offered by the appeals court is short and doesn’t offer explanation beyond upholding the decision of the lower court, it makes one wonder about this controversial statement made the Judge: "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."

I chuckled at Newt Gingrich’s response, “Imagine a judicial nominee said 'my experience as a white man makes me better than a Latina woman,' Wouldn't they have to withdraw? New racism is no better than old racism. A white man racist nominee would be forced to withdraw. Latina woman racist should also withdraw."

But the charge of racism is not what caught my attention in the statement. What caught my attention was, “with the richness of her experience.” I think this is about the most arrogant statement I can imagine. When I was young, I thought that the whole of knowledge came from your experiences. I thought that your decisions should be based on what you know. I thought I knew a lot because of the things life taught me. Experience has taught me different. I now know that it’s not just okay, it is absolutely vital to sometimes say, “I don’t know. Where can I learn more?”

This is especially true for a judge. More than any other occupation, a judge has to be open-minded and willing to hear both sides of an argument. More than anyone else, a judge has to put the “richness of her experiences” aside and look at the arguments in terms of our societal values and MOST IMPORTANTLY the affirmation of the Constitution.

I don’t know whether this woman is a racist. What I am sure of is that someone who bases her judgments on the “richness of her experiences” rather than the law and the constitution is not someone we want on the highest court in the land.

Apparently, I'm a pathetic hack

Well, once again, I am not nearly as original as I thought I was. When I started thinking about the issue of gay marriage and what was really philosophically behind it, I wondered whether the the government should be involved in marriage at all. I wanted to clarify that it's not a freedom issue the way everyone keeps insisting. Rather, it is a endorsement issue that had the potential to threaten religious freedom. Please read those thoughts here. I thought it was a pretty original idea.It came from a lot of introspection of my beliefs. Everyone I discussed it with thought it was a little nutty. Well, today I turned on a series of news clips to play while I did some half-hearted exercise. I was surprised by this one.



Anyone who reads me knows that I don't pretend to know everything. I simply want to expand the minds of anyone who reads what I write. Whether right or wrong, it's an interesting perspective.

The Root of All Evil...

...Pizza

You know, society has to have some standards. When the people are forced to deal with filth that degrades the integrity of their moral values, it is the government's job to step in and say, "We don't allow that kind of disgusting display in our community." This was why I was so pleased to hear that Washington D.C. council member is stepping up to remove the bane of society. Jim Graham recognizes the fact that there would be no crime if there was no pizza. He realizes that a carb-infested crust topped with fatty cheese and, all too often, some disgusting meat product disguised by acidic tomato mush (although mouth-wateringly delicious) is "trouble with a capital T and that rhymes with P and that stands for pizza."

Mr. Graham says that these perfectly legal businesses cause crime and "have become a nuisance." DON'T WORRY, EVERYONE! He's already spoken with the mayor AND he's drafting legislation.

Heaven save us from idiots and state legislators. Perhaps the government would like to take over the food-service industry next? I, for one, think a hamburger would be much better if I had to fill out 76 forms, provide both a primary and secondary ID, provide proof of having purchased french fries and pay 14 different fees before I could get one. Better yet, perhaps they will appoint a committee to study the feasibility of offering a dollar menu. We could vote them a tax-hike to pay for the committee and then we would know for sure our burgers are ephedrine-free.

Delicious.

Thank You

Memorial Day is an exciting day for most Americans. It's getting close to the time when school gets out. The weather is finally warm enough to play at a park or have a barbecue in the back yard. Many people are enjoying a long weekend and celebrating the start of summer with family and friends. But there are a several out there who are having their barbecue with someone missing. The irony is that those empty seats are the reason anyone is having a celebration today at all. I'm not talking about the holiday that wouldn't exist without our military; I'm talking about a way of life that couldn't exist without them. I cannot imagine the pain of losing a loved one in a war. I have a few veterans in my family, but they will still fill their seats today. I hope I am able to help them understand how much I appreciate their sacrifice. But my heart is filled with love for those families that are missing someone today, and everyday. Whether it was a sweetheart in Would War II, an uncle in Vietnam, or a child in Operation Iraqi Freedom: Thank you. I am overcome by the feelings I have for you and wish there were better words to express what's in my heart. Since there isn't, Thank you.

The Words of People Much Smarter than Me: Memorial Day

John 15: 13
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

The following was written by Abraham Lincoln to a mother. May God Bless our soldiers and their families.

“Dear Madam:

“I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the republic they died to save. I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours, to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.

“Yours very sincerely and respectfully, Abraham Lincoln.” (21 Nov. 1864; quoted in Selections from the Letters, Speeches, and State Papers of Abraham Lincoln, ed. Ida M. Tarbell, Boston: Ginn and Company, 1911, p. 109.)

My right to have my picture taken with a giant mouse

The Bill of Rights for Americans is getting longer and longer. Now we have freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom from illegal search and seizure and, let’s not forget, freedom of two weeks paid vacation. That’s right; Florida congressman Alan Grayson is proposing a paid vacation act. He believes that the world would be a better place if the government mandated that every employee receives paid vacation. He argues that studies have shown that vacation increases productivity and his legislation would stimulate the economy. Mr. Grayson came up with his brilliant idea while standing in line at Disneyland.

Listen, if paying for vacation is a smart business move (and I’m not arguing it’s not) then the businesses have the freedom to do it. If an employee wants a job where he gets his paid vacation, then he will make it a priority in his job search. But it is not the federal government’s job to mandate such measures. Indeed, the federal government does not have the RIGHT to mandate such measures. These sort of legislations simply display an inherent misunderstanding about how economics works.

But let me tell you WHY I am concerned about this. It’s not because I hate vacations. It is partially because I hate the use of the logic, “the United States is the last in the industrialized world in requiring vacation time for its workers.” France requires 30 days a year in paid vacation time and I am sure we all desire to mimic their unemployment rate. The thing that really bothers me is this: Bigger Government. Right now we have a good system. An employee is free to choose his job based on the benefits the job offers. If someone else offers a more comprehensive benefit package, that employee is free to choose another job.

What we do not need is another bureaucracy. Instead of an intelligent, independent person, free to peruse the marketplace for a job that provides the best return on his skills, we have a poor victim of society complaining to an enormous government body that his “basic human rights” are not being met by his evil employer.

People don’t understand the symbiotic relationship of worker and business. They want to paint it as a boxing match, where there has to be someone to handicap the stronger competitor. If you want to make yourself more valuable so that you have more bargaining power in choosing a job, get more skills. THAT will help the economy. Crippling the freedom of industry and strengthening the power of someone without requiring them to be more useful or productive, will just make things worse. If you want more…earn it. Giving it away for nothing hurts our economy and is primarily the reason we’re in the mess we’re in. A sense of entitlement creates less production, not more.

California without Atlas

Californians have been voting for tax increases for years. So many people have been buying into the idea that a problem can only be fixed by throwing more money into it. Unfortunately, they frequently trust the government to be the ones to throw the money at. All of this has left the state bankrupt. They have driven the wealthy and the business owners out with their ridiculous policies. It’s funny, but when the government choked the private sector, the private sector left. Suddenly, the people of our nation’s largest state are realizing that it was the business that drove their economy and kept it healthy, not the government. Ahead of this week’s election, the governor warned that unless the people vote for more taxes, the state will fail. Well, the people finally came out and told their government that more government is not the answer. This is good news. Still, I can’t help but wonder what will happen to the country as a whole as the federal government makes more and more hostile policies toward those that are still pouring their minds and effort into the economy. Perhaps Atlas will shrug?

A Research P.S.

Last week, I shared with you two pretty ridiculous studies that your tax dollars are funding. I want you to understand that this is a trend, not a one-time occurrence. You see, I am a bit odd. When the world is screaming at each other about whether or not the federal government should fund stem-cell research, when people are yelling about the moral issues involved, I'm sitting here with one eyebrow raised wondering, "Wait? Why is the government funding research? Isn't that something that should be privately funded? Does the constitution say that one of the functions of the government is to make value judgments about what should and should not be studied and then funnel the people's money (allocated for GOVERNING) into it? Please show me where it says that?"

You see private companies are at a disadvantage. They can't just vote to take money from people. When they get money from investors, they are expected to produce something with their funds. The government, on the other hand, has a free hand to fund studies such as this one:

The National Institutes of Health is funding a study to investigate the personal and cultural pressures on female and transgender prostitutes in Thailand.

I can't help but wonder why no private company wanted to fund that one. Research is the business of private companies and charities. The government has no accountability, and thus cannot be expected to make good choices about what to research. You're welcome to disagree; I suspect the Thai prostitutes do.