- On the one hand political correctness run amuck seeks to destroy Constitutional liberties, on the other hand, political correctness run amuck seeks to destroy Constitutional liberties.
- Will commanders at Travis AFB now prevent the singing of The U.S. Air Force song with its references to “God” and “soul” (lyrics here)
- What other Constitutional rights will be infringed on the say so of an anonymous bureaucrat?
Air Force won’t allow God to be spoken at non-mandatory ceremony
This article below from Patriot Post sets out the basic story and issue involved to the incident seen in the YouTube video embedded herein. After that overview we have an excerpt and link to an article quoting an extremely credible witness.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDCWqujfO1o
Air Force Challenged for Ejecting Vet From Ceremony (Patriot Post)
First Liberty Institute, a legal organization, gave Air Force leaders one week to issue a written apology to retired Senior MSGT Oscar Rodriguez Jr. before it would pursue legal action over a flag retirement ceremony at which Rodriguez was forcibly removed for mentioning God. As Mark Alexander first wrote in April, “There has been yet another example of Barack Obama’s top-down effort to eradicate any reference to faith by military personnel.”
Rodriguez was invited to speak at the retirement ceremony of MSGT Chuck Roberson April 3. The U.S. military had stripped any mention of God in the retirement ceremony in 2005. But Roberson wanted the traditional ceremony — faith and all — just like he saw Rodriguez perform it a month before. This time, when Rodriguez mentioned the name of God, a group of maintenance personnel (not security) forcibly removed the veteran from the ceremony.
“The Air Force had no right to assault a citizen, much less a 33-year military veteran, because they didn’t want him to mention ‘God,’” said Mike Berry, military affairs director at First Liberty Institute. “Mr. Rodriguez has a constitutional right to free speech and religious expression, even on a military base. The military broke the law and abused its power. We expect the Air Force to hold those responsible accountable, and allow Mr. Rodriguez to continue honoring the flag and other veterans who have sacrificed for our country.”
It’ll be quite a fight, for the policies that seek to scrub the faith that sustains many a man and woman in uniform comes straight from the commander in chief.
Exceedingly credible eyewitness account Via John Q Public website
Video: Retired SMSgt Forcibly Removed from Retirement Ceremony
Update (21:20 EST): the following comment was provided by Stephan Sila on Facebook. he claims to have first-hand knowledge as a participant in the ceremony. His account, assuming it’s true, is explosive (and entertaining).
RINO Susan Collins gun control bill fraught with Constitutional issues
From the Heritage Foundation Daily Signal by Hans von Spakovsky and Cully Stimson
Taking Away Constitutional Rights at the Discretion of the Government (excerpt)
If the news reports are correct, the latest “gun control” proposal being put forward by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is a “measure that would block people on the Transportation Security Administration’s no–fly list from buying firearms,” according to ABC News.
There is one major problem with that proposal: It is potentially unconstitutional since it would take away a constitutional right—your Second Amendment right to bear arms—at the discretion of a government official in a secret, nontransparent process that has no adequate due process protections.
Let’s be clear—we don’t want terrorists buying guns in this country. Nor do we think that they have a Second Amendment right to do so. But this blunt instrument is not the right solution.
The Terrorism Screening Database is the official name for the “Terrorist Watchlist” maintained by the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center. This database is the U.S.’s central repository of foreign and domestic known and suspected terrorists. How individuals get onto this list is classified, as is the process for individuals getting from that list onto the no-fly list maintained by TSA.
We don’t know what evidence is required by the government or what the standards are for the government having a “reasonable suspicion” that would place any American citizen on the no-fly list. And more than one court has held that the procedures for an American who may have mistakenly gotten onto the list to get off are inadequate. The ACLU complains that the government often fails to “provide meaningful notice“ and to explain why an individual is listed
(snip)
No one questions that we need a no-fly list to prevent suspected terrorists from being able to take over airplanes and repeat the type of horrendous attack that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001.
But there are literally tens of thousands of individuals on that list today and the “reasonable suspicion” standard for getting on that list is not a very stringent legal test; keep in mind that apparently in many of these cases there is not enough evidence to actually arrest the individual and prosecute him for supposed terrorist activities. And while one might assume that it is suspicion of terrorist activity that will get you on the list, some reports indicate that other factors such as just traveling to certain countries or having a similar name to someone on the list can get you on the no-fly list.
If a member of Congress proposed taking away your right to criticize the federal government under the First Amendment or your right to vote in the upcoming election because you are on the government’s secret no-fly list, people would be shocked at the very idea of taking away such fundamental rights based on mere suspicion; without requiring the government to prove its case against you in a court of law; and without any of the due process rights we are guaranteed under the Bill of Rights as citizens of the United States.
But so many liberals would like to write the inconvenient Second Amendment out of the Bill of Rights, that they see no problem with treating it as simply a privilege that the government can take away at will.
R Mall
