It’s Wednesday, July 3rd, 2013…but before we begin, we just remembered who James “Creepy-Ass” Cracker…er,…Clapper…

 

“I,…uh…forgot.  Sure I’m the Director of National Intelligence; but hey, it’s not like I can keep track of EVERYthing!”

…brings to mind; Jake Blues:

Then again, why should Clapper be any different than the rest of Der Obafuhrer’s Administration?!?

Now, here’s The Gouge!

First up, courtesy of NRO, Victor Davis Hanson describes…

The Glue Holding America Together

As it fragments into various camps, the country is being held together by a common popular culture.

 

By a.d. 200, the Roman Republic was a distant memory. Few citizens of the global Roman Empire even knew of their illustrious ancestors like Scipio or Cicero. Millions no longer spoke Latin. Italian emperors were a rarity. There were no national elections.

Yet Rome endured as a global power for three more centuries. What held it together? A stubborn common popular culture and the prosperity of Mediterranean-wide standardization kept things going. The Egyptian, the Numidian, the Iberian, and the Greek assumed that everything from Roman clay lamps and glass to good roads and plentiful grain was available to millions throughout the Mediterranean world.

As long as the sea was free of pirates, thieves were cleared from the roads, and merchants were allowed to profit, few cared whether the lawless Caracalla or the unhinged Elagabalus was emperor in distant Rome.

Something likewise both depressing and encouraging is happening to the United States. Few Americans seem to worry that our present leaders have lied to or misled Congress and the American people without consequences. Most young people cannot distinguish the First Amendment from the Fourth Amendment — and do not worry about the fact that they cannot. Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln are mere names of grammar schools, otherwise unidentifiable to most.

Separatism is believed to bring dividends. Here in California, universities conduct separate graduation ceremonies predicated on race — sometimes difficult given the increasingly mixed ancestry of Americans.

As in Rome, there is a vast disconnect between the elites and the people. Almost half of Americans receive some sort of public assistance, and almost half pay no federal income tax. About one-seventh of Americans are on food stamps. Yet housing prices in elite enclaves — Manhattan, Cambridge, Santa Monica, Palo Alto — are soaring. The wealthy like to cocoon themselves in Roman-like villas, safe from the real-life ramifications of their own utopian ideology.

The government and the media do their best to spread the ideals of radical egalitarianism while avoiding offense to anyone. There is no official War on Terror or against radical Islamism. Instead, in “overseas contingency operations,” we fight “man-caused disasters,” while at home, we deal with “workplace violence.”

In news stories that involve crimes with divisive racial themes, the media frequently paper over information about the perpetrators. But that noble restraint only seems to incite readers. In reckless fashion they often post the most inflammatory online comments about such liberal censorship. Officially, America celebrates diversity; privately, America is fragmenting into racial, political, and ideological camps.

So why is the United States not experiencing something like the rioting in Turkey or Brazil, or the murder of thousands in Mexico? How are we able to avoid the bloody chaos of Syria, the harsh dictatorships of Russia and China, the implosion of Egypt, or the economic hopelessness now endemic in southern Europe?

About half of America and many of its institutions operate as they always have. Caltech and MIT are still serious. Neither interjects race, class, and gender studies into its engineering or physics curricula. Most in the IRS, unlike some of their bosses, are not corrupt. For the well driller, the power-plant operator, and the wheat farmer, the lies in Washington are still mostly an abstraction.

Get up at 5:30 a.m. and you’ll see that your local freeways are jammed with hard-working commuters. They go to work every day, support their families, pay their taxes, and avoid arrest — so that millions of others do not have to do the same. The U.S. military still more closely resembles our heroes from World War II than it resembles the culture of the Kardashians.

Like diverse citizens of imperial Rome, we are united in some fashion by shared popular tastes and mass consumerism. The cell phones and cars of the poor offer more computing power and better transportation than the rich enjoyed just 20 years ago. Youth of all races and backgrounds in lockstep fiddle with their cell phones as they walk about. Jeans are an unspoken American uniform — both for Wall Street grandees and for the homeless on the sidewalks. Left, right, liberal, conservative, professor, and ditch digger have similar-looking Facebook accounts.

If Rome quieted the people with public spectacles and cheap grain from the provinces, so too Americans of all classes keep glued to favorite video games and reality-TV shows. Fast food is both cheap and tasty. All that for now is preferable to rioting and revolt.

Like Rome, America apparently can coast for a long time on the fumes of its wonderful political heritage and economic dynamism — even if both are little understood or appreciated by most who still benefit from them.

In a related item, the Washington Examiner‘s Tim Carney makes a prediction regarding the Left’s latest initiative specifically designed to destroy the adhesive properties of the glue Hanson referenced:

Gay marriage fight now becomes a religious liberty fight

 

Today’s talk of tolerance and acceptance of gay marriage will soon give way to intolerance and rejection of those who hold a traditional view of marriage. The next offensive in this culture war will involve wielding government to force individuals to accept the new definition of marriage, falsely invoking analogies to civil rights.

As a prototype, consider the assault on the liberty of Elaine Huguenin, the wedding photographer in New Mexico. In 2006, a couple asked her to photograph their wedding. When she learned the couple were lesbians, she declined, explaining that pursuant to her faith, she only photographed man-woman weddings.

The couple got a different photographer, but they sued Huguenin. In New Mexico, there is no gay marriage. In a recent poll, most New Mexicans said they oppose gay marriage. But the state outlaws discrimination based on sexual orientation. The New Mexico Human Rights Commission found Huguenin had broken the law, and ordered her to pay $7,000. Huguenin, with the aide of the pro-bono civil liberties law firm Alliance Defense Fund, has sued and the case is now before state Supreme Court.

Try to live your own life according to traditional values, and the state will come after you, and compel you live according to its values.

Florist Barronelle Stutzman owns Arlene’s Flowers in Richland, Wash. A gay man, who was a long-time customer of Arlene’s, asked Stutzman to arrange flowers for his wedding. She declined, citing her belief that marriage is a union between a man and woman. Now Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson is coming after Stutzman, saying, in effect, she must participate in this gay wedding.

How does Ferguson justify using the power of the state to impose his morality? “If Ms. Stutzman sells flowers to heterosexual couples,” the Seattle Post-Intelligencer quotes Ferguson saying, “she must sell them to same-sex couples.” But obviously Stutzman did sell flowers to same-sex couples, happily – that’s why this particular client was a long-time customer. What she refuses to do is participate in a ceremony that the state calls marriage, but which she doesn’t consider to be marriage.

This is why the civil rights analogy doesn’t work. Hugeinin’s case and the Stutzman’s case aren’t about small businesswomen refusing to serve gay people. They are about businesswomen refusing to endorse the novel definition of marriage. Now a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court has asserted that the only reason to object to gay marriage is to “demean” gay people, expect this offensive in the culture war to escalate.

President Obama promised that he won’t try to force churches to administer gay weddings. That’s very kind of him. But Obama’s contraception mandate has shown us how narrowly he views religious liberty. Maybe Obama or his successor won’t use an executive order to rewrite the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony, but government will go after churches all the same. The Cardinal O’Boyle Hall that your parish occasionally rents to outside groups? Better allow gay wedding receptions there or face the wrath of the state.

He’s right; gay marriage is only the beginning!

You’re allowed to be religious, of course, but only on the Sabbath. If you dare step into the world of commerce or public service, the government will impose its morality on you. You see it in Obama’s rhetoric: he talks of “freedom of worship” rather than freedom of religion. It’s a push to bring to heel all rivals of government. Liberal writer Kevin Drum made it pretty explicit during the contraception mandate debate:

“I’m tired of religious groups operating secular enterprises (hospitals, schools),” he wrote, “hiring people of multiple faiths, serving the general public, taking taxpayer dollars — and then claiming that deeply held religious beliefs should exempt them from public policy.”

The thrust: religious groups should only do religion–they shouldn’t feed the poor, clothe the naked, educate the young. And individuals who adhere to religions? Leave your faith at the church door. The Obama administration has argued in the contraception mandate cases that we lose our freedom of conscience the second we enter into commerce with other people.

The Left has long been the aggressor in the culture war. The crushing power of government has long been their weapon. Many politically involved writers and advocates concerned with liberty and equality fought to open marriage to gay couples. Now that they’ve won, here’s hoping that those who care about liberty will defend the liberty of cultural conservatives to live their lives according to their faith.

Yeah…

When it comes to the professionally-sensitive, it’s equal rights for ME, NOT…

…for thee!

Again, gay marriage has nothing to do with marriage, equality or any other of the high-sounding, noble causes its proponents purport to champion.  It’s just one more step in a carefully orchestrated, patient plan to undermine America’s moral and social fabric, the ultimate goal of which is replacing God and family with…

…government.

And since we’re on the subject of those dedicated to tearing asunder what heretofore have been the ties that bind:

Bloomberg: If sparklers are legal, the terrorists will win

 

Citing national security concerns and the war on terror, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg asked New York Gov. Michael Cuomo to ban the sale of children’s fireworks. City officials worried that sparklers — handheld fireworks that emit colorful sparks and are often waved through the air by kids on the Fourth of July — could be used in terrorist attacks, according to The New York Post.

“A recent attempt to harm innocent lives provides a frightening example of how legally purchased… Fireworks can cause dramatic harm and even kill,” said Joseph Garba, Bloomberg’s state legislative director, in a statement. Garba was referring to the case of the failed 2010 Times Square bomber, Faisal Shahzad, who used a legally-purchased firecracker to trigger his car bomb. The ignition device failed, however, and the bombing was unsuccessful.

Although firecrackers contain gunpowder, sparklers do not.

Yes, but in Boobberg’s defense, if terrorists were to throw the burning sparklers, they could cause some rather nasty burns!

Next up, courtesy of The Heritage Foundation’s Morning Bell, James Carafano and Jessica Zuckerman expose the lies behind the Senate’s surrender-of-sovereignty bill:

5 Immigration Questions for Members of Congress

 

 

“Psst!  He can kiss his career good-bye!”

It’s July 4 week, which means Members of Congress are at home in their districts. As you head to your nearest town hall meeting, take these questions for your Representative. Below, we also provide the real answers you should be listening for.

1. Since the Senate-passed bill doesn’t require the flow of illegal immigrants to stop, how can you say this approach secures the border?

No one can make that promise. The Senate bill, S.744, throws tens of billions of dollars at the problem and calls for meeting arbitrary security standards, but it doesn’t guarantee that illegal immigration will stop. Also, many of the bill’s “requirements,” such as 700 miles of border fencing and new border patrol agents, would not commence immediately but over time. As with current immigration laws, some provisions would end up being ignored or waived.

S.744 contains no guarantee that the government would keep its promises of more security and enforcement. Even if it did, it wouldn’t even come close to stopping illegal immigration. We’d revisit this debate again within 20 years.

2. The Senate-passed bill requires the U.S. government to manage many more visas, even though it doesn’t do a good job with today’s smaller work load. So how does this “fix” our legal immigration system?

It doesn’t. The bill makes some changes to various types of visas but does little to fix the broken bureaucracy in charge of the legal immigration system. Without significant changes, new requirements and more responsibilities would only make the system worse.

S.744 does away with some flawed visa programs, such as the “diversity” lottery. It creates a merit-based program and adds work-based visas. Although these are steps in the right direction, the devil is in the details. For example, the bill would make the H-1B visa program unworkable by creating expensive restrictions and costs. In short, S.744 fails to make the legal immigration system better.

3. The Senate-passed bill puts the federal government in charge of enforcing immigration laws, even though state and local governments want to help and would be good partners. Is this federal focus the right approach?

No, giving the federal government all the responsibility is the wrong approach. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has fewer than 6,000 agents, and S.744 does little to augment that. Putting all the authority in federal hands is a surefire way to hamstring enforcement, simply because the federal government can’t do it all.

A million local and state law enforcement officers are ready and willing to help enforce federal immigration law. These officers know their communities best and are already in place. By partnering through programs such as 287(g), state and local authorities can help. Sadly, S.744 ignores them.

4. Since the Senate-passed bill would add huge costs and likely depress wages for many current Americans, is it really good for the citizens you’re supposed to represent?

The fact is, this approach costs too much, and hurts current citizens. The bill is loaded with wasteful pork and kickbacks, such as $1.5 billion for a mini-stimulus “jobs for youth” program. What’s more, the bill would harm the nation’s long-term fiscal health. After amnesty, illegal immigrants on average would receive more in government benefits, such as welfare and entitlements, than they pay in taxes. The total cost of amnesty to taxpayers could be $6.3 trillion or more. (We’re betting on “more”!)

Finally, the bill would lower the wages of current citizens as they compete for jobs with illegal immigrants who get amnesty. By introducing millions of newly legalized workers to the market, the bill would drive down wages.

5. In 1986, when Congress last passed amnesty, the sponsors said it was a “one-time” thing. The Senate-passed bill follows the same “amnesty first, security and enforcement later” approach. Why are we doing that again?

There is no reason to make the same mistake twice. The U.S. government gave out amnesty and legal permanent residency to at least 2.7 million illegal immigrants as a result of the Immigration Reform and Control Act in 1986. That amnesty didn’t stop illegal immigration, because the government didn’t (and still doesn’t) want to tackle border security or enforcement of immigration laws. In fact, amnesty only encourages more illegal immigration by sending the message that once enough illegal residents are here, the government will hand out amnesty again.

Some have argued that S.744 is not amnesty, but this is simply double-talk. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), when running for office in 2010, said “an earned path to citizenship is basically code for amnesty.” He was right.

S.744 allows illegal immigrants, including many criminal aliens, to remain here legally and even become citizens. It rewards those who broke the law, even as millions legally wait in line. This is amnesty, and this is unfair.

Not just unfair; but absolutely, unequivocally BAD for America!  And the fact Marco Rubio can’t see it leads us to question either his principles or intelligence.

Speaking of former Republican front-runners who sacrificed their long-term political prospects for short-term gain….

Christie: I didn’t vote for Obama, he doesn’t lead

 

Neither do you, Chris…neither do you; which is why we’ll never be voting for you!

Next up, in the Linda Ronstadt Memorial “Poor, Poor Pitiful Me” segment…

Michelle Obama: I’m in a ‘Prison’

 

No…but you and your Marxist husband OUGHTA be!!!  Or better yet…

And in the Environmental Moment, for those of you who haven’t yet heard…

Rare bird spotted in Scotland, immediately killed by wind turbine

 

Wind turbines can be a great source for renewable energy (Sure…as long as you don’t mind paying four times as much for electricity!), but it’s hard to ignore the threat they pose to birds. The white-throated needletail is the fastest flying bird in flapping flight the world. It’s also one of the rarest. Until this week, it hadn’t been seen in Britain since 1991. When one turned up on the Isle of Harris, people from all over the country came to see it. Some were able to get a glimpse of the beautiful bird before it flew right into a wind turbine and died instantly. The corpse is being sent to a museum, but as wildlife expert Steve Duffield said, it’s still “a very sad end to a delightful bird.”

You know…kinda like a pigeon…

…gettin’ drilled by a Randy Johnson fast ball!  Talk about your classic Environazi conundrum!

For more on the junk-science and pseudo-technology so in vogue with the Left, we turn to this offering from James Taranto, entitled…

Hot, Flat and Crowded

 

The argument for global warming rests almost entirely on appeals to authority, but Salon’s Alex Seitz-Wald makes one of the strangest appeals to authority we’ve ever seen:

In his big speech on climate change [last week], President Obama mocked Republicans who deny the existence of man-made global warming by derisively referring to them as members of “the Flat Earth Society.”

“We don’t have time for a meeting of the Flat Earth Society,” Obama said. “Sticking your head in the sand might make you feel safer, but it’s not going to protect you from the coming storm.”

As it turns out, there is a real Flat Earth Society and its president thinks that anthropogenic climate change is real. In an email to Salon, president Daniel Shenton said that while he “can’t speak for the Society as a whole regarding climate change,” he personally thinks the evidence suggests fossil fuel usage is contributing to global warming.

As its name suggests, the Flat Earth Society also believes that the Earth is flat. In our view that calls into question their status as a scientific authority.

In fact, time is SO short The Obamao thought he’d get in a quick trip to Africa; you know…

…before it’s too late.

On the Lighter Side…

Then there’s this classic from Jim Gleaves:

Finally, we’ll call it a wrap with another titillating tale torn from the pages of the Crime Blotter:

College Student Arrested & Thrown in Jail After Buying…Bottled Water

 

It should have been just a simple trip to the grocery store to buy bottled water, cookie dough and ice cream for a sorority event. Instead, six plainclothes officers swarmed University of Virginia student Elizabeth Daly, who was ultimately arrested and spent the night and next afternoon in jail, the Charlottesville Daily Progress reported.

What happened? The officers — men and a woman — were state Alcoholic Beverage Control agents who suspected the 20-year-old walking to her car that night had just bought a pack of beer. One agent jumped on the hood of her SUV and Daly said one drew a gun. Panicking and not knowing who they were, she tried to get away.

“They were showing unidentifiable badges after they approached us, but we became frightened, as they were not in anything close to a uniform,” Daly said in a written account of the April 11 incident. “I couldn’t put my windows down unless I started my car, and when I started my car they began yelling to not move the car, not to start the car. They began trying to break the windows. My roommates and I were…terrified,” she stated.

She dialed 911 as she pulled out of the parking lot and stopped for an agent’s car with lights and sirens, the Daily Progress reported. Once she realized who the agents were, she apologized profusely. Nevertheless, Daly was charged with two felony counts of assaulting a law enforcement officer after she grazed two agents with her SUV trying to flee, and one felony count of eluding police. She spent the night and afternoon in jail, and was facing prison time and thousands of dollars in fines before the charges were dropped Thursday.

Charlottesville Commonwealth’s Attorney Dave Chapman told the Daily Progress he’d never seen a case like this in 34 years of experience. “It wouldn’t be the right thing to do to prosecute this,” he said.

The Alcoholic Beverage Control said Friday it’s reviewing the incident. A spokeswoman said a female agent saw “what appeared to be an underage person in possession of what appeared to be a case of beer.” “The agent identified herself as a police officer and was displaying her badge,” agency spokeswoman Kathleen Shaw said in a statement. “The agents were acting upon reasonable suspicion.”

In a related report, as of today, the VA ABC will now require its agents to undergo annual eye exams.

Magoo