In response to certain measures taken by the federal government in response to the shutdown, the bikers are returning to DC, as are various veterans groups. But the first big one to hit town were the truckers. A group called “Truckers Ride For The Constitution” (formerly "Truckers to Shut Down America" and found on Facebook if the website crashes again) began by meeting at two rendezvous points both north and south of the DC area, and then proceeded to get on the Capital Beltway and take up two lanes (leaving one for emergency vehicles), holding the speed limit at 55 miles per hour. The plan is to do this throughout the weekend.
It is absolutely not true that the President will federalize the National Guard and block all entrance ramps to the Beltway. Since the eastern half is part of I-95, the major artery of transportation for the entire East Coast, it would be an overplaying of the hand currently held by the White House with respect to its current disagreement with some Republicans in Congress, and the least we would expect in the wake of such a decision, is that governors of several mid-Atlantic states would be on the phone protesting interference with the lines of commerce. What is true, is that the truckers are cooperating with the State Police in both Maryland and Virginia, and expect no trouble.
Other drivers are called upon to show support by having the Twitter hashtag visible from their vehicle: #T2SDA
Oh, one more thing ...
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.
The following prayer was composed by John Carroll, first Archbishop of Baltimore, in 1791. John was a cousin of Charles Carroll of Maryland, the only Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence.
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We pray, Thee O Almighty and Eternal God! Who through Jesus Christ hast revealed Thy glory to all nations, to preserve the works of Thy mercy, that Thy Church, being spread through the whole world, may continue with unchanging faith in the confession of Thy Name. We pray Thee, who alone art good and holy, to endow with heavenly knowledge, sincere zeal, and sanctity of life, our chief bishop, Pope N., the Vicar of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the government of his Church; our own bishop, N., all other bishops, prelates, and pastors of the Church; and especially those who are appointed to exercise amongst us the functions of the holy ministry, and conduct Thy people into the ways of salvation. We pray Thee O God of might, wisdom, and justice! Through whom authority is rightly administered, laws are enacted, and judgment decreed, assist with Thy Holy Spirit of counsel and fortitude the President of these United States, that his administration may be conducted in righteousness, and be eminently useful to Thy people over whom he presides; by encouraging due respect for virtue and religion; by a faithful execution of the laws in justice and mercy; and by restraining vice and immorality. Let the light of Thy divine wisdom direct the deliberations of Congress, and shine forth in all the proceedings and laws framed for our rule and government, so that they may tend to the preservation of peace, the promotion of national happiness, the increase of industry, sobriety, and useful knowledge; and may perpetuate to us the blessing of equal liberty. We pray for his excellency, the governor of this state, for the members of the assembly, for all judges, magistrates, and other officers who are appointed to guard our political welfare, that they may be enabled, by Thy powerful protection, to discharge the duties of their respective stations with honesty and ability. We recommend likewise, to Thy unbounded mercy, all our brethren and fellow citizens throughout the United States, that they may be blessed in the knowledge and sanctified in the observance of Thy most holy law; that they may be preserved in union, and in that peace which the world cannot give; and after enjoying the blessings of this life, be admitted to those which are eternal. Finally, we pray to Thee, O Lord of mercy, to remember the souls of Thy servants departed who are gone before us with the sign of faith and repose in the sleep of peace; the souls of our parents, relatives, and friends; of those who, when living, were members of this congregation, and particularly of such as are lately deceased; of all benefactors who, by their donations or legacies to this Church, witnessed their zeal for the decency of divine worship and proved their claim to our grateful and charitable remembrance. To these, O Lord, and to all that rest in Christ, grant, we beseech Thee, a place of refreshment, light, and everlasting peace, through the same Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior. Amen.
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An observation by our correspondent Tim Ferguson is worth nothing, that Chief Justice John Roberts has become the first man to administer the oath of office four times to the same President. It was necessary to fulfill the constitutional requirements yesterday at noon, as the 20th of January fell on a Sunday, and that the public recreation of the same take place today. Historically, republics tend to endure for little more than two centuries. Inasmuch as this is so, we have been blessed.
Robert Heron Borkdied last Wednesday morning at the age of 85, of complications from heart disease. Judge Bork was one of the preeminent jurists of our time, holding to the interpretation of the Constitution according to the intent of those who wrote it, on the presupposition that they actually meant what they wrote at the time. One might expect no less of anyone with a measure of integrity, to say what they mean, and to mean what they say, even in our time.
There have been many tributes written to honor the man. There will be more in the days ahead. This may well be among the least of them, in the mere shadow of those who knew him better. Be that as it may ...
In 1973, when President Nixon ordered the firing of Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox during the Watergate investigation, the Attorney General resigned after refusing to carry out the order, followed by the Deputy Attorney General. This left Bork, then Solicitor General, in the position of Acting Attorney General, and who proceed to follow through on the order, in what became known as the “Saturday Night Massacre.” In 1987, when President Reagan nominated Bork to the United States Supreme Court, the Democrats in Congress launched into a severity of scrutiny into his legal opinions, and assaults on his personal character, unprecedented for a President's selection to the High Court. His nomination was defeated by a record margin. A new term was introduced to the political vocabulary, as such character assassination in the public realm was thereafter known as being “borked.” And yet, his role as an architect of the "originalist" school of constitutional law inspired peers and protegés alike, and in concert with his grace and tenacity under fire, he won a new generation of admirers.
VIDEO: A tribute to Judge Bork produced by The Federalist Society in April of 2011.
I never really knew the judge, but I did know his second wife, the former Mary Ellen Pohl. (His first wife, the former Claire Davidson, died of cancer in 1980.) Mary Ellen is an accomplished teacher and lecturer on issues concerning the Gospel of Life in her own right, and I was a student in a Theology of the Body class she conducted in 2004. A pleasant and most graceful woman, she was the perfect complement for the irascible former Marine. In over thirty years of living in Washington, I wasn't always at ease in a room full of public figures, which can be a liability on occasion in the Nation's capital. I had only met him once, at a lecture about seven or eight years ago. As I was introduced to the judge by his wife, I said the first stupid thing that came to my head: “It's nice to meet you, sir. I've heard so much about you.” He looked up at me out of the corner of his eye with suspicion and growled: “WHERE???” I was a bit taken aback: “Well, um, I read the papers and, um, I may have come across your name once … or twice.” Thankfully, Mary Ellen was the wiser of us, and gently nudged him to move on.
The story came back to me yesterday, as a Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated for his repose, at the Church of Saint John the Beloved in McLean, Virginia. In attendance were six members of the United States Supreme Court, several prominent members of Congress, and numerous political pundits, syndicated columnists, former law clerks, family, friends, and admirers. After he was laid to rest with military honors, and a volley fired by his fellow Marines, a repast was held at the Bork residence.
Shortly after my arrival, a distinguished gentleman confined to a walker required assistance getting a cup of tea, and so I obliged him. Upon sitting at the table with several other gentlemen, all of whom knew the judge quite well, it came into conversation that this gentleman was a professor at Ave Maria University. My interest was piqued.
“So, what do you teach, sir?”
“Whatever I damn well please.”
“Well, then, what is it that damn well pleases you these days?”
“Catholic social doctrine.”
PHOTO: Courtesy of Rev Vincent Fitzpatrick, retired prolife anarchist, now a priest of the Diocese of Fargo.
Then followed a discussion of this subject, on to the so-called "Catholic vote" among Latinos, and then to the Theology of the Body. After about fifteen minutes, someone comes along and introduces him by name to someone else. I had been engaging none other than Michael Novak, the eminent Catholic philosopher, journalist, novelist, and diplomat, with whose work I had been familiar for many years. And so, with the professor and other distinguished gentlemen, we sipped martinis and spoke of our encounters with the judge. It came as no surprise, then, that they were sufficiently amused with my own first encounter.
There were so many others in attendance to remember the passing of an old friend, men and women who may or may not have been public figures, but who were nonetheless accomplished, and whose stories held my rapt attention. I was at the residence for over an hour, and it went by all too quickly.
When I would see him at St John's with Mary Ellen, you could tell he was fading. There were occasions in the final years when he actually gave interviews, even then refusing to mince words when it came to certain parties by name, but these were welcome respites from the continued failure of his health. His devoted wife cared for him at home for the last several years. Knowing of how my own mother spent half her married life caring for my father, a man slowing wasting away with multiple sclerosis, I knew that no man could be loved more by any woman than Mary Ellen loved Robert. “Behind every great man ...”
There are times when we only get to know a man by the company he keeps. And so, I left that house knowing, not only the measure of the man, but what it was to be in such good company. This is how I will remember the man I barely knew. Whatever injustices were meted out to Robert Bork in this life, his case proceeds forthwith to the Highest Court, and the most Just Judge.
May justice and mercy prevail in Robert's favor, and he may enter into Eternal Life.
So is the question asked by one Ken Huber of Tawas City, Michigan, a town of just over two thousand on the shores of Lake Huron, in a "letters to the editor" page of a small Michigan newspaper.
... in public schools you can teach that homosexuality is OK, but you better not use the word God in the process; you can kill an unborn child, but it is wrong to execute a mass murderer ...
To answer his question, America has become exactly what we allowed it to become.
No one forces us at gunpoint to settle for the version of the truth as told by the mainstream media. We are free and able to seek out reliable alternative sources. No one forces us not to believe in God, and we can still (for the time being) worship him as we choose. Those of the Muslim faith, to the extent that they get their way in the public square -- remember, "Allah" is simply the Arabic word for "God" -- do so because they have learned to show collective outrage at any affront to their beliefs. Do not blame them for something that Christians in America used to do without hesitation. They hold sway because they frighten us. The extremists among them know this, and the moderates among them take advantage of this.
No one took over this country by force. We sat back and allowed an effete and articulate minority to influence opinion, to the point where they have taken over the bully pulpit, and have cowed us into submission. They earn personal fortunes, and enjoy the good life, by mimicking the cry of the poor, showing generosity with someone else's money.
Mister Huber asked all the right questions. What will he do with the answer?
Congressman Ron Paul, Republican from the Texas 14th Congressional District (Galveston and vicinity), considered by many to be the “intellectual godfather” of the Tea Party movement, recently announced his retirement from the United States Congress. Yesterday, he gave his farewell address, which is shown here. Also available is the full transcript of that address.
We've heard stories of voter fraud, notably voting machines conveniently malfunctioning in favor of the incumbent, in the battleground state of Ohio. Thankfully, our friends at The Daily Beast have come to the rescue. If you see this kind of shenanigans going on at your polling place, click here:
Many liberal voters will go to the polls with less enthusiasm than they did four years ago. Conor Friedersdorf explains better than most why he refuses to vote for Obama in, of all places, The Atlantic.
Many conservatives, including prolife Catholics (as opposed to pro-death Catholics, who are a walking oxymoron, but that's another story), would consider Mitt Romney to be the lesser of two evils. Even the Washington Examiner concedes he is not the darling of the conservative base to which he has appealed (while still endorsing him twice). But there is more involved here than the lesser of two evils, as commentator Bill Whittle explains in the video clip above. We are choosing what kind of America we want. On one hand, there is the one the Founding Fathers intended, that of a constitutional republic, subject to the rule of law, as opposed to an effete and arrogant oligarchy. On the other hand, there is a European-style pseudo-socialism, which even Europeans are beginning to reject, one that pits race and class against one another, while its leaders are wined and dined by the socially "enlightened" upper-crust.
Running for a second term as President is a man whose past associations, including a known and self-admitted domestic terrorist who actively supported the man's entry into politics, could not get him past a routine civil service background check. Tomorrow will be the day America decides whether that matters. In so doing, a nation chooses the course it richly deserves. We do not imagine those whose freedoms will be in jeopardy. Indeed, those who profess the Catholic faith already have reason to be alarmed.
But we can still have a little fun with it (while we still can), courtesy of comedian and Brooklyn native Chris Rock. Sort of adds new meaning to the term "Rock The Vote," don't you think?
“It's always darkest just before they turn the lights on.” (Do you know where that line is from?)
By now, most Americans are aware of the five-to-four decision of the United States Supreme Court, which declared that the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) was constitutional. But that wasn't the big surprise. It was, rather, that the tie-breaker was not the perennial swing-voter Justice Anthony Kennedy, but the presumedly-conservative Chief Justice John Roberts. From sea to shining sea, those who were against the health care bill are wringing their hands. "This is the end of America as we know it," was the declaration of one right-wing yahoo who sends e-mails to yours truly every day while saying the same damn thing as three or four other daily e-mails also sent every day.
Let's keep a few things in mind.
One and a half centuries ago, the Supreme Court declared, in the Dred Scott decision, that slaves were property, not persons. A century later, their right to vote was affirmed by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Four decades ago, the Supreme Court said that a woman had a right to kill her unborn baby. That ruling may crumble under its own weight within the next decade. And now, we are told we have to buy something we may not want, or pay a penalty which the President says is not a tax, but which Chief Justice Roberts says ... is. At least he's honest.
That might be why Erick Erickson is taking the news rather well.
The thing is, she's right. While the rest of you wait for what Justice Antonin Scalia calls "nine hot-shot lawyers" to save you, you don't bother to save yourselves. The House of Representatives (guys you can vote for, unlike judges) can already vote to repeal, or at least defund, Obamacare. And if Romney wins the election AND the Republicans get sixty seats in the Senate (for whom you can also vote in or out), both sides of the Hill will kill it, and Romney (hey, there's another guy you can actually elect) will sign the death warrant.
I know what you're thinking right now. Yes, Romney pushed socialized medicine while Governor of Massachusetts. There's a big difference, my dear minions. That was a state program; this is a Federal program. Under our Constitution, states have the power to do things that are not given to the Federal government. You'd know that if you cracked open a book on the subject every now and then.
So you see, all is not lost, but you can't just sit there and wait for a knight on a white horse to rescue you from yourself and your abysmal ignorance of the laws and governance that affects you.
So quit your damn bitching, America, and get to work.
ADDENDUM: Hey, I forgot to include what Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said:
“Ironically, the Supreme Court has decided to be far more honest about Obamacare than Obama was. They rightly have called it a tax. Today’s decision is a blow to our freedoms. The Court should have protected our constitutional freedoms, but remember it was the President that forced this law on us.
“The American people did not want or approve of Obamacare then, and they do not now. Americans oppose it because it will decrease the quality of health care in America, raise taxes, cut Medicare, and break the bank. All of this is still true. Republicans must drive hard toward repeal, this is no time to go weak in the knees.”
