Freedom Of Religion

The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment is pretty clear. It states that Congress can’t make any laws establishing religion (as in a state sponsored one) and that it can’t prohibit the free exercise of religion. This means anytime, anywhere.

[note]Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. ~ First Amendment US Constitution [emphasis mine][/note]

There are business owners who have deeply held religious convictions and they have refused to do things that they feel violate their beliefs. Many hold that if they participate they are as guilty of the sin, as defined by their religion, as the people committing it.

Indiana is catching hell for a religious freedom bill that assures business people will be protected if they follow their religious convictions. There is nothing in the law that allows discrimination though you would be hard pressed to find that information in the MSM.

There is also nothing that mentions gay or lesbian or any other form of sexual deviancy (and yes, they are deviants from the norm). You would also be hard pressed to find that out in the MSM.

You see, the media, fueled by the radical homosexual community (and liberals, of course), has made this all about homosexuals. They have their panties in a wad over this law and they are spreading the lie that it targets them.

The federal government has this very law, signed by Bill Clinton of all people, and many other states have the law as well. When Clinton signed the law liberals applauded. Now they are attacking Mike Pence for the very law they cheered when Clinton signed on the dotted line.

Let us be clear. You have no right to do business in a shop. You have no right to that owners business. He has no right to your patronage. He is free to decide what he will and will not do and you are free to decide whether or not you will shop there.

The big difference is the shop owner can’t discriminate against YOU. He can’t decide not to do it because you are gay or black or anything else. He can decide not to do it because of what you want [him to do] if it violates his religious beliefs.

You, on the other hand, are free to discriminate against the shop owner for any reason. If you don’t want to shop there because the owner is gay or black or white or whatever you have the right to discriminate that way and the government cannot arrest you for it or fine you for it or force you to shop there.

Should a black baker be required to bake a cake for the KKK or skinheads? Should a Jewish baker be required to bake a cake for a neo Nazi group?

Should a Muslim deli be forced to make you a ham sandwich or cook you bacon for breakfast?

If these things would violate their religious beliefs then they should not have to do them.

The outcry from the gay community is deafening but I never hear any of them attack a gay baker who refuses to make cakes for straight people.

I use a baker for most of the examples because this is what started all this mess but there are plenty of other examples (including my Muslim pork example above).

Should religious hospitals and clinics be forced to provide abortions or birth control if it violates their beliefs?

Should a person of religious conviction be forced to provide some service to a porn shop? Suppose a very religious air conditioner repair person was called to give an estimate and arrived at a porn shop. Should that person be forced to provide the service or should that person be able to decline?

Should a gay florist be forced to provide the floral arrangements for the Westboro Baptist Church (you know they hate gays and blame everything bad on them, right)?

The law in Indiana is to protect people who act in accordance with their religious convictions and does not allow discrimination.

Unfortunately the MSM and the radical homosexuals do not understand this. They are only tolerant of other people’s views as long as those views agree with their own.

If I owned a bakery or any other business I would have a sign that said what the business will not do. Imagine telling the gay folks I will bake you a cake but I will not do any gay themes. It would be helpful to post that sign and then list other bakeries (or businesses similar to yours) that will provide the service.

Perhaps, and this is me thinking outside the box, these folks could move on and find a bakery (or other business) that WILL provide what they want. There are plenty of other places that are more than happy to take your money. Why cause problems?

Because that is the agenda.

Destroy religion. Destroy opposition. Make homosexuality normal.

Sorry but it is not and it never will be.

FWIW, I don’t care if you are gay or straight, black white or any other color and I don’t care what religion you are or what sex you are (or anything else that makes you different from me). Treat me right and I will do the same to you.

Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Big Dog

Gunline

States Should Tell Feds To Take A Hike

The federal government holds states hostage to federal tax dollars. It works like this; the states collect tax money and send it to the federal government, then the federal government doles it out to the states.

This paradigm makes states dependent on the federal government and leads to coercion on the part of the feds.

If the federal government makes the speed limit 55 mph then any state that does not comply has highway funds withheld. If a state does not do what the federal government dictates with regard to health care then Medicare funding is withheld.

See how it works? They take money from the states and then force the states to comply in order to get any of it back.

The newest case of extortion comes from the federal government in regard to the state of Indiana. That state had the audacity to drop the Common Core standards. For those unfamiliar Common Core is billed as a way to teach for better results when it is really a mumbled mess that dumbs down students and teaches them to be dependent on government. Common Core will not prepare students to compete in the modern world. Common Core is indoctrination to the left’s view of things.

The federal government has told Indiana that it must prove that its standards are just as challenging as Common Core or its federal funding will be in jeopardy. It should not be hard to show that any program is just as (or more) challenging than Common Core but since the feds will decide there is no telling if Indiana will make the grade (pun intended).

[note]The only challenging thing about Common Core is making sense of it.[/note]

So Indiana faces losing federal funding for education. Considering there should be no federal funding of education (not in the Constitution as a federal concern) perhaps it is time for Indiana to take a stand.

Ideally the state would stop sending all federal taxes collected to the federal government until the feds left the state alone but that would cause problems for the citizens who pay those taxes.

[note]Technically, employers collect federal taxes on income and send them to the IRS so states would have to force employers to send the taxes to the state for disbursement. Might be a difficult task but it could be done. Any federal tax the state collects directly and sends to the feds could easily be withheld.[/note]

Perhaps Indiana should determine what amount of money the feds have been “providing” for education, determine what percentage that is of the total taxes paid in, and deduct that percentage from the amount sent to DC.

Indiana can tell the feds that the state is withholding the funds and will use them as it sees fit.

The same could be done by states that are forced to comply with some transportation related federal mandate (like speed limits). The state could collect the federal gas tax and hold it in escrow until the feds capitulate.

Force the federal government to stay in its own lane and stop infringing on the states.

Perhaps all states should start withholding the percentage sent to the federal government for unconstitutional programs and spend the money internally without it having to pass through DC. The Tenth Amendment is there for a reason and until states start pushing back the federal government will continue to infringe.

Time to castrate the federal government and bring the power back where it belongs; to the states or the people respectively…

Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Big Dog

Gunline

Well Wishes For Beau Biden

Beau Biden, the son of VP Joe Biden and the attorney general of Delaware, is at a hospital in Texas known as a leading center for the treatment of cancer. There is no indication that Biden has cancer as news reports indicate he is being evaluated.

Biden, who had a stroke in 2010, suffered a bout of weakness and disorientation on 14 August after driving to Indiana for a family vacation. He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago and then went to a hospital in Philadelphia to see his doctor. He is now at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Beau Biden is now being evaluated to determine what caused his weakness and disorientation. There is no indication as to why he is at a premier cancer center though that is sure to fuel speculation.

I wish him well and will keep him in my prayers. I do not agree with him or his family politically but he is a human being and seems like a fairly decent guy outside the political arena. He is someone’s father, husband and son and it is a stressful time for all of them as they wait to see if a cause for his illness can be found.

I wish him well.

Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Big Dog

Gunline

Robber Probably Forgot He Was Not In Maryland

A Maryland man has been shot and killed at a convenience store in Indiana. Evidently, Terry Wilson of Baltimore tried to rob the store at gunpoint when the clerk pulled a gun and shot him to death.

Wilson is from Maryland where criminal prey on the law abiding because the law abiding are not allowed to carry guns. The state and its moron governor, Martin O’Malley, will tell you they have a process to allow one to carry but that process infringes on law abiding citizens and violates the Second Amendment. You must show a reason why the state should allow you to exercise your right. According to the politicians there is no real need to carry but it is often difficult to see how dangerous things are when one is surrounded by armed police officers. O’Malley has an armed protection detail. He thinks he is more important than the people for whom he works.

In many other states law abiding citizens can carry a concealed weapon (usually red states) and crime rates are lower. Wilson probably forgot that he was not in the killing fields of Maryland when he decided to rob that store. Besides a bullet, I wonder what the last thing that went through his mind was. Toto, we are not in Maryland anymore…

If that had taken place in Maryland and the clerk pulled a gun and shot the felon the state would arrest the clerk for murder. Only felons are allowed to carry guns in Maryland.

I imagine that if several robbers were killed in such attempts in Maryland there would be fewer and fewer robberies. That won’t happen because Maryland seems to like being at the top of the crime stats list.

The morons in elected office from the Teflon Leprechaun governor to the legislators in Annapolis have no clue because they do not believe in individual liberty and in following the Constitution.

They believe in state control of the people and hell, as long as they can live in their gated communities or have armed guards, why should they actually care about the crime?

That is why we are the People’s Republik of Maryland.

Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Big Dog

Gunline

[tip]If you enjoy what you read consider signing up to receive email notification of new posts. There are several options in the sidebar and I am sure you can find one that suits you. If you prefer, consider adding this site to your favorite feed reader. If you receive emails and wish to stop them follow the instructions included in the email.[/tip]

Democrats Running From Obama And Pelosi

Democrats are running scared because they have a feeling of impending doom. The November midterm elections are just around the corner and it does not look like anything will go in favor of Democrats in time to save them from defeat. So many Democrats have resorted to insulting the intelligence of their constituents by pretending that they are not like those people in DC.

Joe Donnelly of Indiana is one such Democrat. Donnelly, by most measures, is a moderate Democrat. He is pro life and pro gun but holding those positions does not mean anything if one is willing to walk in lock step with party leadership. Donnelly has an ad out that shows Obama and Pelosi in an “unflattering” manner and his shtick is; I am not one of them, I am one of us.

Right Joe. You campaigned for Barack Obama and you supported his agenda. Certainly you had your moments where you opposed some of what was going on but when push came to shove you voted with the other Democrats to approve the Senate version of Obamacare. About 70% of the population opposes the mandate (the one Obama opposed as a candidate) and almost two-thirds oppose the health care reform as it was presented. You voted against those majorities and with your party.

On March 21, 2010, Joe Donnelly voted in favor of approving the Senate version of the Democrats’ health care reform bill. Wikipedia

You Joe, are not one of your constituents, you are one of the people in DC. Your problem now is that you come from a fairly conservative area and you are trying to convince people that you are the same moderate guy they elected and you are trying to fool people by pretending you oppose the DC leadership.

You are a liar Joe and one would hope your constituents are not stupid enough to fall for your blatant rewriting of history and your blatant attempt to deceive them.

And one other thing about this guy, and I hope you folks in his district are paying attention, he voted for the stimulus package. That’s right, he voted for the package that indebted our children and grandchildren to government.

That is not moderate and those votes come from a person who is not worthy of retention in office.

People of Indiana’s 2nd Congressional District take the opportunity to tell this guy, in the words of Donald Trump. “You’re fired!”

Cave Canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Big Dog

Gunline

[tip]If you enjoy what you read consider signing up to receive email notification of new posts. There are several options in the sidebar and I am sure you can find one that suits you. If you prefer, consider adding this site to your favorite feed reader. If you receive emails and wish to stop them follow the instructions included in the email.[/tip]