Connecticut Marines Fight for 'Don't Trend on Me' Flag Display



We read:

"A group of retired Marines is asking Connecticut's attorney general to allow the "Don't Tread on Me" Gadsden flag to fly over the state Capitol on July 4 after Capitol Police refused the request saying it doesn’t fall within the state’s flag flying parameters.

The group says the the yellow banner, which sports a coiled rattlesnake and its trademark motto, is the original flag of the U.S. Marine Corps and clearly fits into the section of the policy which states that the Connecticut State Capitol can fly “flags of recognized military organizations of the U.S.A.”

But Capitol Police have denied several requests to fly the flag -- which has become a favorite nationwide among the Tea Party movement and a popular alternative to the stars and stripes – saying it is not the official Marines flag.

But the policy wasn’t always so strictly interpreted. The Society of Cincinnati, a historic group dedicated to preserving the ideals of the American Revolution has flown its flag over the Capitol every July 4 since at least 1968. It was denied this year amid the Gadsden flag flap.

Capitol Police even approved an earlier request to fly the Gadsden Flag over the Capitol in April, but reconsidered after lawmakers dubbed it a political symbol due to Tea Party connections to the request and said it didn’t fit the state’s requirements.

Source

Hate speech against Catholics in Australia

She'd be fired for saying anything similar about Islam. Rather amazing that a major commercial TV station risked alienating so many of their audience. About 25% of Australians identify as Catholics

"Channel 10’s ‘The 7PM Project’ and one of its presenters Kitty Flanagan have caused major offence to Catholics and Catholic groups all over the country.

MsFlanagan began her segment firstly by dismissing religion as ‘fiction’, and then moved on to ridiculing the Catholic Church’s teaching on the Eucharist, by suggesting Catholics drank blood like vampires. She then proceeded to further mock and ridicule religious teaching, paying special attention to Catholicism.

Source

Flanagan is of course an Irish name so perhaps she is another example of the old saying that there is no anti-Catholic like an ex-Catholic.

I myself was brought up in Presbyterian traditions at a time when many Presbyterians harboured a strong suspicion that "old red socks" (the Pope) was the antichrist -- but now that I have put aside such foolish things, I have met several men of great holiness among the Roman priesthood -- plus some that I would not let a child near -- so I treat Catholicism with great respect these days. I even sent my son to Catholic schools in order to be sure he got at least the basics of the Christian story.

Dumb Joe gets abusive

He seems to think that a call for lower taxes is insulting

"US Vice President Joe Biden called the manager of a frozen custard shop outside of Milwaukee, Wisconsin a "smartass" after the man asked him to lower taxes.

FOXNews.com said Mr Biden made the comment after the Kopp's Frozen Custard shop manager told him that his dessert would be on the house if he lowered taxes. "What do we owe you?" Mr Biden is heard saying in footage captured by WISN-TV. "Don’t worry, it's on us," the manager replied. "Lower our taxes and we'll call it (the custard) even."

"Why don't you say something nice instead of being a smartass all the time," Mr Biden said a few minutes later.

Source

Staten Island mosque controversy

Muslims seem to think they can just demand reespect. Respect has to be earned. And not many Americans are going to respect pro-terror preaching in their own backyard.

"Those opposed to a planned mosque in Midland Beach are consumed by bigotry and hatred, a Muslim American Society leader said yesterday. Ibrahim Ramey, the human civil rights director for MAS’ advocacy arm, the MAS Freedom National, accused some Staten Islanders of engaging in a “ferocious attack” against Muslims based on stereotyping and prejudice. “When stripped of all the propaganda, innuendo, and flat-out lies, the issue is simply one of religious bigotry and hatred,” he said, in a letter issued to the media.

Ramey was referring to the pushback from neighbors of St. Margaret Mary R.C. Church, which agreed to sell a portion of its property to MAS for a mosque and community center. Along with concerns about traffic and parking, residents said they fear MAS is affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, which has been questioned for terrorist practices.

In the past week, residents have staged rallies protesting the sale, and the pastor who initially made the agreement, the Rev. Keith Fennessy, withdrew his support.

Bill Owens, a Midland Beach resident who has been very vocal in his opposition to MAS, said the group was wrong to characterize residents as full of hatred.

“We’re not racist or bigots,” he said. “The five firefighters from our neighborhood, they didn’t stop at the door of the World Trade Center and ask what sex, color and religion they were. They went into the building and perished. St. Margaret Mary’s just had their eighth-grade graduation and there were Muslim children who graduated. We’re not anti-Muslim, we’re anti-terrorist. Everybody says we’re Islamaphobes. No, we have a ‘terrorphobia.’”

Owens went on to say that residents received a lot of support at their rallies protesting the mosque — even from Muslims. “We’ve had Muslims come up to us and say, ‘Don’t let this organization move in here, they’re evil.’

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Homosexual hate speech

We read:

"A group of about 35 journalists, politicians and members of Toronto’s Jewish community gathered at the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre this morning in reaction against Pride Toronto’s (PT) June 23 decision not to censor the term Israeli apartheid from this year’s Pride celebration.

It was a press conference held by gay lawyer Martin Gladstone and “representatives of the organized Jewish community.” Seated with Gladstone at a long table were representatives from the Canadian Jewish Congress, the Canada-Israel Committee, the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, and mayoral candidates Rocco Rossi, Giorgio Mammoliti and Rob Ford.

Gladstone said he will resume lobbying Pride’s corporate sponsors, warning them, “You can’t separate the message of a sponsor from what happens in the Pride Parade.”

Source

If you want to see apartheid in the Middle East, go to Saudi Arabia and experience the severe restrictions on Christians there. There is nothing similar in Israel.

A Republican ignoramus

He calls himself a redneck but that defames rednecks. Sikhs and some Muslims wear cloth headcoverings but Sikhs are a warrior people with a proud history of indomitable resistance to Islam and nobody who knew anything about Sikhs would mistake a Sikh turban for Muslim garb.

"On June 4 2010 during an internet political talk show, South Carolina Senator John M. Knotts Jr., repeatedly used the term “raghead” while referring to State Representative Nikki Haley, searing the consciousness of Sikh and Muslim communities in South Carolina and throughout the nation.

Haley is of Sikh descent and converted to Christianity when she was 24. The racially charged comments were targeted at Haley because she was running for the GOP nomination for Governor for the State of South Carolina, which she eventually won.

Staff Attorney Hansdeep Singh stated that “Senator Knotts’ own words reveal a deep seeded mistrust and anger towards those with external religious identities, even when he is ignorant about the group he is attacking. This is evidenced by his comments that ‘we’re are at war over there,’ as he erroneously tried to make a link between Ms. Haley’s turban wearing Sikh father and the war being waged against terrorists.

More here

Knotts now seems to be on the road to being thrown out of the GOP as offending Sikhs really is quite unforgiveable. The term "raghead" seems a fairly mild expletive to me but if it is offensive to your friends it is brainless.

Rep. Haley's conversion to Christianity is also deserving of respect. Like Christianity, Sikhism is a monotheistic faith and the move from Sikhism to Christianity is not a long road. Although it has its origins in the 15th century, Sikhism is in fact a rather modern religion in that Sikh teaching emphasizes the principle of equality of all humans and rejects discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, and gender.

Atheist Billboards Stir Debate in Florida

We read:

"Atheists of Florida, a group that advocates the separation of church and state, put up five signs Wednesday in Lakeland, targeting the area’s devout Christian population, MyFoxTampaBay.com reported.

Members of the organization's Lakeland chapter say they aren’t looking to convert Christians to atheism, but send a message this Fourth of July that atheists are Americans, too.

"There's quite a strong representation of religion out here and we feel that this is really where the message should be," Atheists of Florida president John Kieffer told the TV station.

The billboards read "one nation... indivisible," excluding the phrase "under God." The reference to God in the Pledge of Allegiance was added by federal law in 1954, on Flag Day.

One of the billboards stands across from a VFW Post, and Vietnam veteran David Kissell told the station he thinks it's a disgrace to our country. "Our nation was formed under God and its principles, and it's a shame we allow this to happen in our neighborhoods," Kissell said.

Source

Must not speak lightly of oil spills



What next will be "wrong"?

"A new airline ad featuring scantily clad women has been slammed for poking fun at the BP oil disaster. A series of photos featuring oil-drenched women in bikinis appears on the Spirit Airlines’ website with the slogan: "Check Out The Oil On Our Beaches."

The women are accompanied by a green-and-yellow bottle of "Best Protection" 50 SPF sunscreen, with the B and P highlighted to stand out. The ads are promoting a $50 discount on travel to the carrier's coastal destinations: Cancun; Mexico; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Atlantic City.

Source

Another appalling decision from SCOTUS

This is going to gut people's willingness to put their names to a petition

"Those who sign a petition to place an issue of public dispute onto a statewide ballot may not later claim a broad First Amendment shield of anonymity to prevent disclosure of their names to the public, the US Supreme Court ruled on Thursday. In an 8-to-1 decision, the high court said public disclosure of referendum petitions does not as a general matter violate the First Amendment.

But the court also stressed that under certain circumstances, petition signers may be able to remain anonymous. ‘Those resisting disclosure can prevail under the First Amendment if they can show a reasonable probability that the compelled disclosure [of personal information] will subject them to threats, harassment, or reprisals from either government officials or private parties,’ Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion in a case called Doe v. Reed.

The issue arose in Washington State after a group opposed to same-sex marriage sought to repeal a recently passed domestic partnership law. The group wanted the law to reflect that marriage and related legal benefits could only be between a man and a woman.”

Source

A fuller discussion of the decision here.

Students Sue Over Removal of American Flag T-shirts

We read:

"Four California high school students who were forced to remove their American flag T-shirts on Cinco de Mayo filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Morgan Hill Unified School District.

While other students at the school wore clothing depicting the
colors of the Mexican flag and other attire related to the holiday, the four students and one other were told by a school administrator that they could wear the shirts any other day but May 5, which celebrates the Mexican army's victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla.

The students’ attorney, William J. Becker Jr., said state law explicitly grants students the right to exercise freedom of speech by wearing “buttons, badges, and other insignia” and prohibits public schools from interfering with their speech rights unless a “clear and present danger” exists, such as the commission of unlawful acts on school premises, the violation of school rules or substantial disruption of the school’s orderly
operation.

“The U.S. Supreme Court has held for decades that students do not shed their First Amendment rights at the schoolhouse gates,” said Becker. "Students who wish to show their pride for another nation’s heritage should not have their speech protected more than those who celebrate America’s."

The lawsuit was filed against the district and also names the principal and assistant principal as defendants.... School district officials reversed the school administrator's decision, calling the incident "extremely unfortunate."

Source

Connecticut School Removes "Lord" Reference in High School Diplomas

Hatred of Christianity marches on:

"Seniors at a New Haven, Conn., high school will not be graduating “in the year of our Lord” this year – or any future years, according to the superintendent of schools. The school district has removed the traditional phrase from high school diplomas after someone complained.

“It’s a religious thing,” Superintendent Reginald Mayo told the
New Haven Register. “I’m surprised it took this long for someone to notice it. We certainly don’t want to offend anyone.”

Last year, former alderwoman Ina Silverman filed a complaint about “in the year of our Lord" when her daughter was a student at Wilbur Cross High School. According to the newspaper, Silverman took her concerns to the mayor, who then asked the superintendent to remove the words.

But the move has outraged a number of people across the city – especially in the Christian community. Local resident Betsy Claro called the decision “hideous.” “I do believe that it’s a travesty to keep removing the Lord’s name,” the mother of three told FOX News Radio. “I believe that our nation was founded on the principles of belief in God, and our Founding Fathers made sure it was incorporated into every document that they produced.”

Donohue told FOX News Radio he doesn’t buy into the argument that the words have been censored to avoid offending people. “To base this decision, in part, on the need not to ‘offend anyone,’ is disingenuous – it offends beyond belief the vast majority of Americans,” Donohue said.

Source

It is disappointing that a Jew initiated this. To them Jesus is not of course "our Lord" and they have their own calendar -- but the complaint is a very ungracious response to Christian support for Israel.

The calendar throughout the Western world is still based on the year of Christ's birth. It must be terrible for her to live with that. Or does she want the year changed on the diplomas too?

YouTube wins copyright case with Viacom

We read:

"A US judge has thrown out a copyright lawsuit filed against YouTube by US entertainment giant Viacom, handing the Google-owned video-sharing site a major legal victory.

US District Court Judge Louis Stanton ruled that YouTube was protected against Viacom's claims of copyright infringement by provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

"Defendants are granted summary judgment that they qualify for the protection (of the act) against all of plaintiffs' claims for direct and secondary copyright infringement," the judge said in his 30-page ruling.

Google welcomed the ruling while Viacom said it planned to appeal.

"This is an important victory not just for us, but also for the billions of people around the world who use the Web to communicate and share experiences with each other," Google general counsel Kent Walker said in a blog post.

Source

Thus will eventually end up before SCOTUS, of course

A military commander is not entitled to his opinion?

There is a huge amount of commentary around about this but it seems to me that the General has told us all stuff that we should know. It is a welcome breach in the wall of "spin".

"The top US commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, has been ordered to the White House to explain his criticism of the President and his senior advisers in an interview in Rolling Stone magazine.

In a profile in Rolling Stone, General McChrystal critcised Vice President Joe Biden, who has been sceptical of the general's war strategy, and imagined ways of "dismissing the vice president with a good one-liner."

McChrystal also told the magazine that he felt "betrayed" by the US ambassador to Kabul, Karl Eikenberry, in a White House debate over war strategy last year.

And an unnamed adviser to General McChrystal told the magazine that the general came away unimpressed from a meeting with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office a year ago.

"It was a 10-minute photo op," the general's adviser said. "Obama clearly didn't know anything about him, who he was ... he didn't seem very engaged."

Another aide called the national security adviser, Jim Jones, a "clown" who was "stuck in 1985".

General McChrystal has apologised for his remarks to the magazine.

Source

Note that the general himself did not criticize Obama or his policies. It was other players whom he criticized. More detail here. The general has now offered to resign, which Obama would be foolish to accept. It would just free the general to tell more.

And if the war is being as badly hampered as the general seems to think, getting out now might be the best thing for his future reputation. Let somebody else take the blame for failure. And if the war does fail, it would be a great blow to Obama's standing. Only far-Leftist Americans would be happy about their country failing in something that has cost so much blood and treasure.

Update

Obama has replaced McChrystal with Petraeus, an impeccable move. Petraeus is clearly a much better thinker and could well rescue the campaign from its present floundering state. A wonder what Hillary thinks about General "Betray-us" now?

British hospital tells support group not to call stillborn babies 'angels' as 'religious word may offend'

No word that any atheists have objected so does the hospital think that it knows better than atheists what atheists want?

"When Michelle Taylor set up a hospital support group, she decided 'angels' was the perfect way to describe stillborn and miscarried babies.

But health chiefs thought otherwise and have told the group to drop the word as it may offend grieving parents who are not religious.

Mrs Taylor, 29, said: 'The word angel is not meant to have a religious sense whatsoever. It is just a word we call our children when we lose them. It is a beautiful word and it fits perfectly.'

Danielle Sanderson wrote: 'There is only one word to describe these beautiful babies that visit for a short time. 'They are angels. I understand the hospital's points, but I think there is no other word to use.'

Source

It is common to call a kindly or generous person an angel so it is a Christian concept that has become generally useful -- and is probably very comforting to most of the bereaved parents. But hatred of Christianity takes precedence over helping grieving people, of course

SCOTUS upholds government power to outlaw dissent

Court fails to differentiate words and deeds:

"The US Supreme Court on Monday upheld the constitutionality of a federal law that makes it illegal to teach members of a foreign terrorist group how to use peaceful means to pursue political goals.

The statute, outlawing the provision of ‘material support’ to designated terrorist organizations, does not violate free-speech and free-association protections of the First Amendment, and it is not unconstitutionally vague, the majority justices declared.

In a 6-to-3 decision, the high court said the law — part of the USA Patriot Act — is specific enough to provide would-be violators fair notice of when their conduct crosses the line into illegality.

The majority opinion, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, says that Congress intentionally wrote the statute with a broad sweep to outlaw material support to terror groups in any form, including assistance or expertise that might help nudge the group toward NONviolence.”

Source

Surely it is the 1st Amendment rather than the intent of Congress that was the issue here. This is a very disappointing decision. But a court that is capable of finding a right to abortion in the constitution when the word "abortion" is not even mentioned there is obviously a political body first and a judicial body second.

Must not say that most heroin producers are Muslims

Even if they are. Man being prosecuted in Britain for saying so

"A man charged over leaflets which blame Muslims for the heroin trade told a jury “I’m not that nutter.”

Anthony Bamber, 54, of Greenbank Street, Preston, denies seven counts of distributing leaflets intending to stir up religious hatred at Preston Crown Court.

BNP party supporter Bamber wrote the literature entitled The Heroin Trade and was responsible for leading a campaign which sent up to 30,000 of the leaflets to people throughout the north of England over 12 months.

It demanded that Muslims should “apologise and pay compensation” for a trade which he said had its roots predominately in Pakistan and Afghanistan....

At a previous hearing David Perry QC, prosecuting, told the court that the case was about “hate speech” which was intended to provoke hatred of both the concept of Islam and also the followers of Islam, Muslims...

Source

Free speech protections are weak at lower courts in Britain. He might have to go to the Supreme Court if he wants such protection -- which would be very expensive.

Must not criticize incompetent sport bosses



We read:

"So a team struggles through an epic losing streak and its manager and general manager are somehow rewarded with contract extensions in the middle of it. Meanwhile, a low-level team employee who makes about $100 a month racing around in a pierogi [mock food-item -- see pic above] costume says what we're all thinking on his Facebook page — and promptly loses his job.

"(His message was) aimed at team president Frank Coonelly, general manager Neal Huntington and manager John Russell. It read: 'Coonelly extended the contracts of Russell and Huntington through the 2011 season. That means a 19-straight losing streak. Way to go Pirates.'"

Source

The guy might pick a better team to support now.

Iceland 'home of free speech'

We read:

"Iceland's parliament has approved proposals to create some of the world's strongest protections for free speech and investigative journalism.

Fifty lawmakers voted today in favour of drafting strong media protection legislation, while one abstained and 12 were absent. The package of proposals requires the government to change Icelandic law to strengthen journalistic source protection and improve government transparency.

Birgitta Jonsdottir, one of the lawmakers behind the measures, says the new legislation could make Iceland a global home for freedom of speech and boost the country's international standing.

Source

Could be handy

Anti-English posters in Scottish stores

We read:

"High street retailer HMV has withdrawn "Anyone But England" World Cup posters and T-shirts from its Scottish stores following complaints they were racist.

HMV took the decision after Fife police visited a store in the Kirkcaldy constituency of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

The Campaign for an English Parliament (CEP) contacted police about the "insensitive and provocative" items which, their website claimed were "criminally irresponsible".

"During the last World Cup, a number of racist attacks were committed in Scotland against English people and anti-English racism remains a problem whether it's a World Cup year or not."

Source

The posters were of course racist and the Scots have loathed the English for nearly 1,000 years -- mainly because the English kept invading and killing them -- but the two sides have got on well enough for centuries now -- without any need for political correctness.

6th Circuit Court of Appeals overturns lower court's ruling prohibiting Christians from distributing leaflets at Dearborn Arab-American festival

I am recycling the post below from Jihad Watch -- JR

Good news, in an update on this story. Meanwhile, of course, we wait to find out the grounds on which another group of Christians was arrested there, as BWI -- Breathing While Infidel -- is not yet against Michigan law.

If it's an Islamic festival, call it an Islamic festival. Otherwise, stop hiding behind the generality of "Arab-American" while persecuting Arab-Americans who also happen to be Christian, but refuse to be dhimmis in a free country.

"Local news: Pastor gets OK for handouts," from the Detroit Free Press, June 19:

A Christian pastor can distribute literature on the streets at this weekend's Arab-American festival along Warren Avenue in Dearborn, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. George Saieg of California wants to hand out pamphlets aimed at converting Muslims.

The Thursday ruling overturned a District Court decision that supported Dearborn's policy, which said Saieg and anyone else must hand out literature only around their booths because of crowd control concerns.

Source