Required reading - two posts that get it right
Jeff Goldstein at Protein Wisdom has an excellent takedown on the “Support the Troops - Abandon Iraq” meme of presidential aspirant John Edwards. Edwards is attempting to create a tsunami of pressure to bear by getting everyone out this week for a Memorial Day gala supporting the troops while denouncing the war. Goldstein takes him to task to the woodshed:
Presidential wannabe John Edwards wants YOU to help “reclaim patriotism”. And just how do you do that? Well, the answer might seem counterintuitive to those of us in whichever of the two Americas it is where protesting the war on Memorial Day seems a bit loathsome and opportunistic.
In the other America, though, here’s how you can reclaim patriotism from people who actually support the troops rather than condescend to them, support the Iraqi people rather than agitate for our country to abandon and betray them, and support the Commander in Chief and General Petraeus rather than work tirelessly to undermine US foreign policy for political gains—and doing so based on a husk of lies and collective amnesia that fancies itself a glittering beacon of freedom (approximately 24,000 sq. ft worth, if I’m remembering correctly…)!
Jeff then goes on to laugh at Edwards “10 Things You Can Do” list and ends by supplying the transcript of Edwards interview with Chris Matthews in October of 2003 on his vote in support of the war. Yes, this is a “must read” post.
And over at Wizbang, Jay Tea has another must read on how we are accomodating Islam and a correction needs to happen:
But I would like to suggest that this beginning of a backlash is long overdue. We, as a society, need to start being a tad more heavy-handed.
The First Amendment is quite clear: the government can not and will not endorse any one religion, nor — within reason — interfere with any. (When there is a conflict between the actions of a religion and the law, the law prevails — hence the bans on polygamy, restrictions on animal sacrifice, and enforcement of age of consent to marriage laws, just to name three.) The ACLU has succeeded wonderfully at laying the groundwork for the battle against these submissions to Islamist demands: we have literally volumes of precedent saying that public funds and resources shall not be used to subsidize or promulgate any single faith — or even faith itself.
What is happening right now is a very bad thing. We are responding to threats and demands by making concessions — and, as has been proven repeatedly throughout history, giving in to such demands never works well. “Once you pay the Danegeld, you never get rid of the Dane.”
I couldn’t agree more. And sums up what needs to be said - LOUDLY - :
The message needs to be sent, loud and clear: America will tolerate religions, but it will not adapt to them. The faiths need to adapt to America. The Constitution is our “Holy Book”, our highest law. If you want to change it, that’s fine — there’s a very clear process that has been used more than two dozen times.
But you will NOT supplant it.
Let ‘em try.
