Rhetorical Question

What if the Catholics begin rioting? 

What if Catholics scale the walls of the Embassies in, say, Italy, Poland and Czechoslovakia and torch American Flags?

What if Catholics kill the Ambassador in Andorra (Andorra is 94% Catholic, by the way)?

What if Catholic protests break out in Germany, Great Britain and much of Europe?

What if the rioters and others claim that the protests are because of Bill Mahar's movie "Religulous?"

Will the FBI bring Bill Mahar in for questioning?  Will the government scour his records looking for criminal activity? 

Will CNN publish his home address, directions to his home, his movements?  

Will CNN News announcers denounce and ridicule the movie? 

Will the Obama Administration contact You Tube and ask that clips form Mahar's "Religulous" anti-Catholic movie be pulled from the service?

Will the The Pentagon call the executives at LIONSGATE (the Studio responsible for "Religulous") and ask them to remove their financial support and repudiate the film?

And, while all this happens, will virtually all so-called Liberals and progressives remain silent?

Honoring the Memory of Peter, Sue and Christine Hanson

In 2006, five years after the horror of September 11, 2001, a diverse and eclectic group of bloggers created the 2,996 Project. In this project, one blogger was assigned to prepare a remembrance for each of the victims who died during the terrorist attacks.

It's hard to believe eleven years has passed since this horrific tragedy. Last year, on the tenth anniversary, there were many television specials, newspaper stories and articles to commemorate the event.  It seems to me that this year the quiet lives of the victims are fading into the mist of time. That is the greatest tragedy of all.  

Please take time to remember just how frail and how fleeting life really is. Read and remember Peter Hanson, Sue Kim Hanson and their little daughter Christine Hanson, the youngest victim of 9/11.

Susan Kim Hanson, her husband Peter and their daughter Christine were just three of the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack that took the lives of 2,996 souls in the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the fields of Pennsylvania.

Sue, Peter and Christine were on United Airlines Flight 175, flying to Los Angeles to visit Sue's family and to take their daughter to Disneyland.  However, people whose hearts were filled with hate hijacked their plane and crashed it into the South Tower of the World Trade Center. 

Sue Kim Hanson was a great scientist in the making. She was a doctoral candidate in micro-biology immunology at Boston University and working on her final thesis. Her work promised to reveal the workings of a chemical believed to regulate immune responses. She had isolated in lab mice a gene suspected of being involved in asthma sufferers and AIDS patients. Her work had the potential to help millions of people.

Susan Kim was one of those wonderful American success stories. A Korean-American, Sue had lived with her grandmother in Korea until she was 6. Her mother died when she was 15 and she was raised by her strict Korean father. Through hard work and discipline, sacrifice, dedication and sheer will power she neared the goal her mother and father and grandmother had hoped she would achieve, her doctorate degree.

Dr. Hardy Kornfeld, Hanson's thesis adviser, said "She was sort of fearless. Sue just took on tasks that were incredibly challenging, and more often than not she was able to make a go at them."

That she would be attracted to the wild and undisciplined Peter Hanson was a great surprise. Three years younger than Sue Kim, Peter gained his education by following The Grateful Dead. Peter believed that the group and its music would become classics, up there with Beethoven, Bach and company, and he tried to sway the opinion of anyone who would listen. 

But even if Sue wasn't quite convinced about the Dead, she believed in Peter. And her faith was well placed. Peter was, by all accounts, a brilliant software engineer, a great salesman and a wonderful person.

He was passionate about Sue and Sue fell head over heals in love with Peter. She obviously had a great effect on him. Legacy.com has a reprint of a New York Times article about Sue that tells the story:

"The relationship spurred Peter Hanson to clip his tangle of brownish-red dreadlocks, trade in tie-dyed T- shirts for suits, go to business school and become one of the best software salesmen his friends and family had ever met. He was vice president of marketing at TimeTrade in Waltham, Mass."

"Her bond with the Hansons was so strong that they accompanied her to California when she went to inform her father about her engagement. She worried that her father would protest because Peter Hanson was not Korean. But her family embraced the Hansons."

Sue and Peter were married and had a beautiful daughter. Sue continued to pursue her doctoral degree. She was scheduled to defend her thesis in November, 2001.
Taking a last break before finalizing her research and thesis, they boarded United Airlines Flight 175 for a mini vacation. 

Peter Hanson is remembered as one of the passengers who documented the hijacking during the flight with two calls to his father.  Peter made a final cell phone call to his parents moments before the plane crashed into the south tower.

"It's getting bad, Dad. A stewardess was stabbed. They seem to have knives and Mace. They said they have a bomb. Passengers are throwing up and getting sick. The plane is making jerky movements. I don't think the pilot is flying the plane. I think we are going down. I think they intend to go to Chicago or someplace and fly into a building. Don't worry, Dad. If it happens, it'll be very fast. My God, my God."  The call ended abruptly.

Those memories will haunt us forever.  But there are better memories, too.

Sue's friend Mona Pengree writes, "Sue was awarded her PhD posthumously, as her professor finished her work on her behalf. This is a wonderful picture of her, and she shone every bit as brightly in person. Probably more. Her loss was a loss to all mankind."

Sue gave a great deal to Boston University and she gave a great deal to all of us. Her work in immunology inspired her fellow students, faculty and the University to continue her research and finish her thesis. They awarded her a doctorate degree. And they established the Annual Sue Kim Hanson Lecture In Immunology, not just to honor her memory, but to give full credit to her work and the inspiration, the strength and the courage Sue provides to us all.

Christine Hanson SHOULD HAVE BEEN 14 years old this year. Michelle Malkin wrote this in her syndicated column back in December, 2001:

"Eight children were murdered on hijacked airliners that crashed on Sept. 11. Christine Hanson, 3, was on United Airlines Flight 175 with her parents. She was on her first trip to Disneyland. Christine was brown-eyed and rosy-cheeked and button-nosed. At family meals, she made everyone stand and hold hands while singing the theme song from Barney. During Christine's funeral, mourners re-enacted the scene, singing: "I love you, you love me""

God bless you Christine... and Peter and Sue and all those who died so tragically five years ago.

God bless.

------------------------------------------------------------------
As I mentioned in an earlier entry, there is a wealth of information, tribute and love scattered throughout the Internet in remembrance of Sue Kim Hanson. I owe every contributor who came before me a deep debt of gratitude. Through each of you I have come to know Sue, Peter and Christine. You have touched my heart.

If my Tribute to The Hansons here today fell short in any way, I deeply apologize and would love to hear from any of you.

I suggest these following resources from which I have borrowed freely in preparing this tribute:Remember September 11, 2001
A mother to her son: How could I forget your curiosity and energy? By Eunice Hanson, for The Associated Press

Peter, Sue Kim, and Christine Hanson Memorial Web Site

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Back in 2006, the 2,996 Project asked bloggers to prepare tributes to all who died in the tragic events of September 11th. Many of those blog entries remain on line and many will be reprinted again this year.

Remembering

I've been spending a little time preparing to repost and hopefully enhance my blog entry remembering Sue Kim Hanson.  Sue, along with her husband Peter and daughter Christine were murdered along with 2,996 others on "nine-eleven" as it has come to be called.   My blog entry will appear tomorrow, as it has every year since 2006.

As part of my research I stumbled upon this wonderful video for The Alzheimer's Foundation.  There is a great blog out there called Smoke and Mirrors by Michael Murphy, a. blogger who has all the talent I wish I had. He posted the video at the request of one of his readers.

My mother has Alzheimer's and it has progressed to the point where she remembers very little of her life.  The other day she was unable to remember her name.

The video below is not a "downer." It's neither frightening nor depressing. It's short and, well, it's important.  Don't be afraid to watch it.

Remember those you love.  And give a gift to The Alzheimer Foundation so that we all can remember the important things in our lives.

Speaking Truth to Power

Most of you missed the most powerful, articulate and passionate speech at the Democratic Party National Convention last night.  Most networks cut away from Timothy Cardinal Dolan's benediction so their talking heads could tell you their opinions on Barack Obama's speech (I thought it was better than they did).

It took tremendous courage for Dolan to give this benediction in a convention that many on the right have (quite correctly) called Abortion Fest 2012.  Dolan was prayerful, yet impassioned and confident. He spoke of Life and Religious Freedom.

His benediction was just a five minutes and sixteen second long.  Watch it now:

You Must Read "We Must"

I realize the Convention Cycle is well underway. I realize that Former President Bill Clinton spoke last night and said some very important things.

I realize Sandra Fluke spoke last night and said some of the most inane, insulting and stupid things ever uttered at a Convention. [Fellow Democrat Kristen Powers saw it the same way I did]

I realize President Obama will speak tonight and his speech might just determine the outcome of the election.

But I want you to direct your attention to Lee Kiester's brilliant analysis of the entire 2012 election cycle and why this may be the most important election of our lifetime.  I'm not going to reprint one word of his analysis here, but I strongly urge you to follow this link and read his entire essay (it's not too long).  It WILL change your opinion about this election.  That is a promise!

LINK- - - - ->   We Must

MSNBC's Betrayal of the Liberal Left

For the last several years many of my friends on the Left, both on Twitter and in the Blogosphere have decried the polarizing bias they see nightly on the FOX News Network.  Fox leans right and, occasionally, falls overboard on the starboard side of the ship.  Occasionally this bias extends in to the news programs as well.

Naturally these same Progressives and Liberals watch MSNBC and especially rejoice in the Liberal Glow of MSNBC's Primetime line-up. While still condemning the bias on Fox News, they love the fact that there is a left leaning alternative.

Unfortunately MSNBC betrays its viewers nightly with a horrific mixture of mis-reporting, false memes and outright lies.  They believe, I think incorrectly, that such overboard bias to the left is their only hope of getting television ratings and more advertising dollars.

As a champion of Liberal causes, I want more from my network.  I want honesty, honor, strict discipline, high journalist standards and an unrelenting search for the truth.

For critics to say that MSNBC is simply a mirror of Fox News is the ultimate indictment, a true measure of their total failure.

Sadly, MSNBC can't even live up to that mediocre standard.  Fox is a shining beacon of journalistic integrity compared to MSNBC.

Last night was the first night of the coverage of the Republican National Convention.  For Liberals and Progressives there is much to compare, contrast and even condemn.  So why not do that?  Are we incapable of wining a fair argument?

Republicans have very little minority support.  There were, indeed, few people of color in the delegations or on the floor.  So why did MSNBC feel the need to edit out every single speech delivered by a person of color?  Some of those speeches were important.  Several were electrifying!

MSNBC eliminated the speech of former Democratic Rep. Artur Davis, a black Alabaman who had actually seconded the nomination of President Barack Obama at the 2008 Democratic Convention!  This was an important speech by an important news maker.  It was also an electrifying speech that brought the crowd to its feet!

Not content to overlook one person of color, MSNBC bypassed them all. Gone from their coverage was Mia Love, a rising superstar in Republican politics. Mia is unique. She is a Black Mormon and a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives from Utah.

Even if you somehow use the excuse that she was a minor player at the convention, how do you not broadcast the speech of Ted Cruz, a Latino American who will be the next Senator from Texas?  

This kind of reverse racism doesn't happen by accident. The executives at MSNBC decided they needed to support their false meme of racism in the Republican Party by purposefully hiding these key minority superstars in the Republican ranks. MSNBC's coverage demanded only whites be allowed to speak.  

Someone at MSNBC decided that we Liberals can't handle the truth.  We must be shielded from the small edges of color that actually are in the Republican Party.

Rachel Maddow owes us an apology.  MSNBC owes its viewers an apology.  

If there is any good news from last night's embarrassment it is that no one was watching.  Thank goodness they were watching Fox News, which actually covered the Convention with a reasonable amount of integrity and honor.

LAST NIGHT RATINGS:

FNC: 6,878,804 viewers (1,679,763 in 25-54)

NBC: 4,770,050 viewers (1,725,282 in 25-54)

CBS: 3,118,927 viewers (938,237 in 25-54)

ABC: 2,862,656 viewers (920,346 in 25-54)

CNN: 1,473,885 viewers (413,467 in 25-54)

MSNBC: 1,468,348 viewers (411,738 in 25-54)

Truths We Dare Not Discuss

The low light of Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney's gaff filled summer European trip was his praise of Israeli culture in its contribution to Israel's success when compared to the relative poor success of the Palestinians.

Instantly Romney was condemned by every Democrat politician for his insensitivity, prejudice and ignorance.  Romney backed down and apologized and clarified his comments so as not to offend anyone's sensibilities.

Romney should never have apologized. The very sad truth is that Romney was right.  The Jewish culture is powerful, strong and productive. It's tightly knit and based on incredibly strong family units and powerful traditions.  Because of this amazing culture Jewish minorities have flourished through some of the more horrific periods in our world's history.

It also has nothing to do with my essay today.

But I must talk about the role of culture in any society's success, especially economic minorities in our society.  We also need to talk, once again, about the fact the government doesn't work.  Almost all government programs are failures filled with huge waste, leaden bureaucracy and inadvertent social engineering that affect our culture, generally for the worse.

Our love of humanity, concern for the poor and desire to protect children have created welfare programs that have enslaved a significant portion of our society.  As our population sinks further and further into poverty our initial urge is to increase our welfare to the poor.  Yet we are not improving the situation precisely because we are not allowed to ever address any cultural issues.

Our entire American culture is based on freedom.  We cannot tell other people how to live.  The evolution of our society now has removed the stigma of divorce and the stigma our unwed parenthood.  At the same time it has encouraged women to seek out careers and fulfillment outside of marriage and motherhood.  All of these things are good for the individual and individual freedom.

Our welfare programs have supported, even encouraged, this evolution toward freedom and independence for women.  This would be a good thing, if it actually worked.  As part of the welfare process, we have partially removed the necessity of marriage and the involvement of men in the family unit.  For example we established the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, popularly known as WIC, SNAP, the old food stamp program, medicaid and other programs step in when the father or mother fails to provide support.

Of course none of these programs are sufficient and women struggle to balance jobs and child-rearing.  In addition drugs ravage families leaving children to be raised by grandparents or by themselves.

In spite of all these programs children are going hungry.  Even though 45,753,078 people receive food stamps, the highest in US history, all too many parents simply fail to care for their children.  Neglect and lack of personal responsibility are the biggest problem and it's the one problem we are never allowed to discuss.  No politician dares to cross that line.

Today's tragic story comes from Chester Township, Pennsylvania.  Here's the story.  Read it and weep:

Mom vows to keep feeding needy kids from her driveway despite city crackdown

A Pennsylvania woman has vowed to continue doling out free lunches to children in her hardscrabble neighborhood, even though officials there have threatened to fine her $600 a day. 

Angela Prattis, 41, was ordered by the Chester Township Council to wind down the makeshift dining room she runs in the driveway of her modest home during the summer for the hungry kids who come to her daily in search of a good meal. Under pressure from the community, the local leaders agreed to let Prattis finish her mission this summer, but told her she would need a zoning variance to resume the operation next summer. 

“I’m going to continue to feed the children,” Prattis told FoxNews.com. “I’m just doing this for the kids. I don’t want a big fight. “I just want to be in right standing with the town,” added Prattis, who feeds 20 or more kids on some days.

The mother of four says she serves up the lunches while the kids are out of school because many are too poor to get good lunches at home. 

Prattis gets the food from the Philadelphia Archdiocese, which makes daily deliveries of pre-packaged lunches, drinks and snacks to her doorstep. She pointed out that the archdiocese required her to take a preparatory class focusing on nutrition — and other essentials — before serving kids. “I’m not working with some fly-by-night operation,” she maintained. 

“This isn’t a working-class neighborhood,” she quipped. “It’s a hardworking-class neighborhood.” 

The neighborhood kids enjoy the lunches and benefit from the nutrition, she said. “We have tons of children, here,” Prattis said. “There’s a lady who baby-sits a bunch of kids and she brings them around because the parents can’t afford to have them in day care and feed them at the same time. 

“We had a nasty storm last Wednesday, and I only set up one table because I didn’t think the kids would come in the pouring rain,” she said, before adding, “They all came. I served 20 children in the pouring rain.” 

Poverty certainly exists in Jewish communities, Arab communities, Irish communities and every community. These problems can happen in any culture.  But in many cultures within our melting pot society, the outcomes described in the article above are extremely rare.  

The divorce rate and the rate of unwed mothers also vary wildly between cultures.  So do high school graduation rates, college attendance and average incomes.  

My current home state of Mississippi is the most obese state in the nation, Colorado, the state of my birth, is the most fit.   Mississippi's tradition of rich, fattening fried food and soul food greatly contributes to this outcome.  There is a mighty difference between cultures in Mississippi and Colorado.

Mississippi also ranks near the bottom in health care, birth to unwed mothers and education.  Our cultural background also prevents sex education in most public schools.

Culture makes a huge difference.  It must be a topic for open discussion and debate.  As Liberals we are quick to condemn Mississippi's religious leaders from their failure to provide sex education.  But we are never allowed to discuss or even mention the crisis of single parent households.  That would be judgmental.

We want our children educated about sex, homosexuality, alternative lifestyles.  But we cannot discuss parenting, parental responsibility, child rearing or any type of personal responsibility.

It would be funny if it weren't so tragic.

I do not have the answers to these problems. But we are not helping our children be failing to even allow discussion of the underlying issues.

Harry Reid

Sadly, there is a thin line between dishonesty and illegality.  I'm guessing Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) hasn't crossed that line.  But if you or I or anyone in the private sector had done the things he has done, we would be in jail.

Just one small example from The National Review Online article by Betsy Woodruff: 

"On December 20, 2005, [Harry Reid] invested$50,000 to $100,000 in the Dow Jones U.S. Energy Sector Fund (IYE), which closed that day at $29.15. The companies whose shares it held included ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco, and ConocoPhillips. When he made a partial sale of his shares on August 19, 2008, during congressional recess, IYE closed at $41.82. Just a month later, on September 17, Reid was working to bring to the floor a bill that the Joint Committee on Taxation said would cost oil companies — including those in the fund — billions of dollars in taxes and regulatory fees. The bill passed a few days later, and by October 10, IYE’s shares had fallen by 42 percent, to $24.41, for a host of reasons."

Read the entire article.

Harry survived the last election because his opponent, Tea Party upstart Sharon Angle was sadly incompetent.  The voters will ultimately decide Harry's fate, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him retire before the next election.

"They’re going to put y’all back in chains"

"They’re going to put y’all back in chains."

These are the exact words spoken by Vice President Joe Biden, addressing a largely Black audience Tuesday during a campaign speech in Danville, Virginia.

Obama deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter said Monday the campaign has “no problem with those comments,” in an interview with Andrea Mitchell.

I personally have a problem with those extremely racist and disgusting comments.

I will not be voting for Barack Obama or Joe Biden this November.  These are not the people I want governing or representing our country.

The Headline You Never Saw

Everyone saw this Headline:

Gunman kills Six at Sikh Temple in Wisconsin

The entire nation (and most of the world) was shocked this weekend by the senseless assault on a Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.  Every cable news channel quickly dropped weekend programming and broadcast full time from the site of this tragedy.  Twitter literally burst at the seams with reports, rumors and completely false accusation (all aimed at the right, from Progressive Zealots on the left who all but claimed Michelle Bachmann pulled the trigger).

The world was at once captivated and horrified.

However, no one saw this headline:

Twelve Murdered in Chicago This Weekend

The headline above never appeared anywhere until my posting, but it is completely true.  It represents just one small piece of the massive American Genocide being ignored by the press.  Because each murder happened individually (or in small groups) and because each is attributed to "gangland violence" they are ignored and forgotten, never reported outside of the neighborhood communities.

Worse, there will be no follow-up.  We won't know anything about the killers.  Many will, in fact, never be identified.  Many will kill again..... and again.  Some will actually murder more people than the famous serial killers.  They will go unrecognized because they are taking lives slowly in drive-by shootings and random acts of violence.

I keep coming back to Chicago because there is an excellent website, Redeye Chicago Com that tracks every murder.  

But these murders are being duplicated in every major metropolitan area in America.  Well over one hundred black teen and twenty something boys and girls die every weekend.  No one reports this tragedy.

I'll finish this tragic entry in my long and growing blog series with a tiny portion of a gut wrenching article in the Chicago Sun Times written by Mary Mitchell, Chronic grief overtaking black communities

It used to be when a teen was killed under any circumstances, mothers would snatch up their children and keep them inside as if they were trying to hide them from the Angel of Death.

Mourners would stop by the grieving family’s house carrying trays of food and just sit quietly. But the prolonged killings of young black people have resulted in a macabre cultural shift when it comes to the grieving process.

Mourners leave empty liquor bottles and cigarette packages on the spot where the victim died. They order T-shirts with an image of the fallen and distribute them to the dead youth’s family and friends. They string up balloons like they are getting ready for the family reunion picnic.

The Rev. Oscar Crear, pastor of New Tiberia Missionary Baptist Church at 2156 W. Wellington, is one of the pastors called upon to perform funeral services for young people who have no church home.

“People struggle for a long time after a violent death,” Crear told me during a recent interview.

“A lot of young people are suffering from chronic grief. They are not handling this very well.”

Some ask, “ ‘How can I bury my son this week and bury your son the following week?’ ” Crear said.

“When people go to funeral after funeral it impacts them.”

The Difference Between Republicans and Democrats

I've written this before.  Probably a lot.  It is one of the greatest oddities of our democracy.


The difference between Republicans and Democrats:


Democrats LOVE laws, they love to write and pass them at the drop of a hat, but they HATE enforcing them.


Republicans HATE laws and want as few on the books as possible but, once they are passed, DEMAND that the be enforced to the letter of the law.


This classic dilemma is being played out today with President Obama's new "guidelines" to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  He has basically done what most Democrats always do, ask law enforcement officers or the courts to ignore and not enforce the law.


First it's important to point out that I like and support the DREAM ACT and feel we need a reasonable way to deal with immigration in this country.  Certainly we should not punish children who were forced to come to the United States by their parents when they were children or even infants.


President Obama feels it would be impossible to pass such a law through Congress, so his answer is..... just don't enforce existing laws.


This is a double dilemma because the President is charged with the enforcement of this law.  At a different time there might be calls for his Impeachment over this gross failure to fulfill his duties,  However, the election is just days away and the public will get the ultimate decision on Obama's actions.


But the second of the double dilemma's is more serious.  His directives are so lax and so unclear it is causing a major, extremely negative, reaction among ICE agents.  They are being forbidden from doing their job, even when their lives are in danger.  


Basically, all illegals who are not wanted for serious crimes as simply being set free, regardless of age or situation.  ICE agents are being fined, suspended ofr doing what was, until a few weeks ago, their jobs.


Here is a snippet from a longer report from Todd Starnes: ICE Agents: Morale is in the Toilet

Morale among Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents is at an all-time low more than a month after the Obama administration announced major changes to the nation’s immigration enforcement policy, according to the head of a national agency representing thousands of agents. 

“Morale is in the toilet right now,” said Chris Crane, president of the National ICE Council. “Most of the guys out in the field are just in an uproar.” President Obama’s policy allows the federal government to use “prosecutorial discretion” to allow younger illegal immigrants to stay in the country and get work permits. 

Critics called it backdoor amnesty, but the administration said it stops short of granting illegals citizenship. 

“They call it discretion but it’s not our discretion,” Crane told Fox News. “We have no discretion.” Crane said a case involving a veteran ICE agent is a perfect illustration. The agent arrested an illegal who was not a “primary target.” The agent’s superior officers ordered the illegal released – even though he did not meet the criteria listed by the Dept. of Homeland Security. The officer refused to follow orders and is now facing a three day suspension. 

The 35-year-old illegal immigrant with ten traffic violations was released.

The problem is that we have a President who is legislatively incompetent and lacks basic leadership skills.  The back door is always the President's favorite door. He can't work with Congress.  He has no idea how our Government works, even after four rather horrific years.


I'm concerned his second term will not be any better.


We need fair laws and clear, strong, impartial enforcement.  We need the best of both Republicans and Democrats.


UPDATE 8/4/2012: John Nolte is married to a legal immigrant from Mexico and supports The Dream Act and also supports an improved and streamlined path to legal immigration.  


But John joins me in condemning President Obama for his failure to enforce the law and Obama's failure to seek  a legislative solution to this problem, in spite of overwhelming public support.  Read his passionate essay here: $465 FOR AMNESTY: OBAMA TO MAKE ILLEGALS LEGAL BEFORE ELECTION DAY 

The Disposable First Amendment

It seems that it's easy to dispense with the Bill of Rights when it doesn't fit with your personal agenda.  Certainly the mayors of two of our largest and most important cities have no problem tossing the First Amendment to the Constitution aside.

You might remember the First Amendment.  It's the one that guarantees Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion.  Those rights no longer apply in Boston or in Chicago.

It was easy for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino to dispense with the Constitution since they were simultaneously discarding their oath of office and the virtually all city, state and Federal laws at the same time.

Both Mayor's personally promised that Chick-fil-A, the popular, successful and well managed fast food chain would never open a store within their respective cities.  The reason is that Chick-fil-A's CEO Dan Cathy is a Christian who made the mistake of actually professing his faith in an interview.  Cathy committed other sins in the mayor's eyes.  He personally gave donations to his church and supported many of their charities.  Some of these well known charities oppose gay marriage or, at least, favor traditional marriage.


But Emanuel and Menino have both decided they alone are the arbiters of religious dogma.  And Freedom of Religion no longer exists.  If you do not believe EXACTLY as they believe, you will be legally prevented from doing business is their cities.


This abuse of power is precisely what the framers of our Constitution feared.  Our government is prevented from establishing any single religion for precisely this reason.  Our country was originally settled by people trying to escape the Church of England and have religious freedom.  


The Boston Herald Editorial Board has rightly condemned Mayor Menoni.  In their editorial Mayor Plays Chicken they write:

We’re trying to imagine a big-city mayor telling the world that he refuses to grant government permits to a restaurant business whose CEO happens to support gay marriage. The condemnation of such an abuse of government power would be swift, overwhelming and appropriate. 

But Boston Mayor Tom Menino apparently doesn’t see any problem using the power of his government office to issue threats to a private company whose CEO does not happen to share the mayor’s own personal or political views.

UPDATE 7/27/2012: Boston Mayor Menino has backed away from his promise to prevent Chick-fil-A from opening in his city or even along The Freedom Trail.  While maintaining his strong support for Gay Marriage, he insists he spoke incorrectly, exaggerating both his ability and intent to block the fast food chain. "I'm just the mayor," Menino sheepishly admitted.