by:Michael Connelly
Then it came under attack by the ACLU because it was on property owned by the U.S. Government and according to the left wing ACLU that was a violation of the Constitutional provisions that require separation of “church and state”. In fact, there is no such language in the Constitution. However, in order to protect this war memorial to our veterans the Congress of the United States acted several years ago to transfer the land that contains the cross to a private organization, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).
Of course, the ACLU challenged this as unconstitutional and a Federal Court of Appeals ruled that the cross must be removed. However, since the case was being appealed to the United States Supreme Court, it was ordered that the cross be covered so no one could be offended by it while the Supreme Court considered the case. Then, this year, the Supreme Court ruled that the transfer was legal and sent the case back to the original District Court to modify its ruling. The cross was finally uncovered and veterans could again kneel in its shadow and remember their fallen comrades.
This apparently infuriated those on the far left who despise our nation and the military veterans who have defended it. The cross has recently been torn down and removed by cowardly individuals who acted under the cover of darkness. The VFW has offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the capture and prosecution of those responsible and has also vowed to rebuild the cross. The ACLU is already moving to prevent that.
However, what I find most interesting is the response of the so-called national news media to this story. Most of the media has ignored the story with the exception of NBC, MSNBC, and ABC. Those news sources have speculated that the theft of the cross must have been done by “metal scavengers”. That is ridiculous because the few dollars that would be gained by the metal in the cross would not be enough to cause anyone to risk the destruction of a national monument and the possible repercussions.
This matters little to the far left media that is intent on protecting anyone who would destroy the values that most Americans hold dear. Just take a look at what else has happened in this atmosphere of “Political Correctness”. On May 5th, high school students in California were sent home because they wore patriotic clothing with the American Flag to school when the school was celebrating “Cinco de Mayo, a Mexican Holiday. The students were told that the depiction of the American flag might offend the Mexican students in the school. On the same day, a student in Houston, Texas took down a Mexican flag that was prominently displayed in his school. His mother had called the school to protest the fact that the flag was displayed but her calls were ignored by the school administrators. The student was suspended for his actions.
Both of these incidents occurred in schools within the United States in schools funded by the people of the United States who pay for these schools with their taxes. Also, in the last few days the cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles, California have decided to punish the State of Arizona for enforcing Federal immigration laws against illegal immigrants. These cities have announced that they will void legal contracts with the state of Arizona because they have dared to enforce the law.
Unfortunately, that is just the beginning of the attacks on our rights under the 1st Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. A recent decision by the United States Supreme Court dealt a severe blow to the Obama Administration’s efforts to take control of the Internet. The decision basically said that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had no Constitutional authority to regulate the Internet. Yet, the FCC is now moving to declare the Internet a “public utility” and regulate it anyway. This action would allow the FCC to decide what providers are licensed to provide Internet services and the ultimate goal is to eliminate most of the conservative websites on the Internet. In other words, the blog you are reading now and the link to my radio show, titled “Our Constitution” will disappear. You will only be allowed to access sites that support the Obama Administration’s efforts to turn our nation into a Socialist nation with none of our basic Constitutional freedoms intact.
In the meantime, there are bills making their way through Congress that would provide Obama with other ways to not only control the content of the Internet, but also the content of television and radio broadcasting. Then, we have the statements by the President’s newest nominee to the Supreme Court, who has said that she supports limits on free speech when they contradict government mandates or leftist positions. A prime example is her efforts to ban military recruiters from the Harvard University campus despite the fact that this violated the law.
When our founding fathers wrote the Constitution and then added the Bill of Rights it was not meant to be a “living document” that evolved over time and was subject to change at the whim of the President, Congress, or even the Courts. In fact, its provisions were set in stone so that the basic and inherent freedoms of the American people could not be altered. One of the most important mandates was the one that provided for a free press. It was believed that the press would always be there to question the actions of the Federal government and let the people of our country know when the government was trying to infringe our rights.
Unfortunately, we now find ourselves in a situation where much of the so-called “mainstream news media” is siding with the current administration and only reporting what it is told to report. It is even calling for restrictions on those members of the media who dare to disagree with the Obama Administration. This is unprecedented in our history and we must respond. For example, the NBC television network and its affiliates such as MSNBC are effectively propaganda organizations for the left wing agenda. This is not just true in the news programming, but even the network’s entertainment shows are filled with anti-American propaganda. As a result, I don’t watch any programs on NBC and I encourage others to take the same position. The sponsors of this network will soon get the message. In fact, recent reports indicate that the network has severe financial problems.
The bottom line is that since the American Revolution it has always been the people of the United States of America who have taking the definitive action to defend our Constitution and the freedoms that we hold dear. Many have done it, and continue to do so, by offering their lives on the battlefield as members of the military. Others have done it by speaking out on the home front and refusing to spend money with those businesses or groups that will ultimately use these funds to undermine our way of life.
As Americans, we have always been in a position to control our own destiny. That must continue now in our defense of the 1st Amendment that is under constant attack. We have the power with our votes, our money, and our right to disagree with those who seek to control us. We must exercise it aggressively in order to defend our Constitution.
