Stories by Feddie
Posted at 11:07am on Jun. 25, 2008 Justice Kennedy strikes down the DP for child rapists
By Feddie
As someone who opposes the death penalty in all instances, and who also believes that death is too good for any rapist, I obviously favor the outcome in this case. That having been said, Justice Kennedy's "reasoning," as usual, is beyond pathetic. The Court's opinion today in Kennedy v. Louisiana, as in Roper v. Simmons, is a constitutional abomination. In an nutshell, there is simply no basis in the Constitution's text, history, or structure for the Court's decision (which rests instead on the Court's own "independent judgment" and "evolving standards of decency"). It is nothing less than rule by judicial fiat.
At some point, the American people are going to have to decide whether they wish to be ruled by nine (and in many cases five) unelected philosopher kings, or whether they would rather have the most contentious issues of public policy we face as a people hashed out in the legislative arena (as was envisioned by our founders/framers).
I, for one, favor the latter.
Posted in Death Penalty | Law — Comments (7)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 1:59pm on Jun. 6, 2008 Stephen Colbert's "McCain GreenScreen Challenge"
By Feddie
Good afternoon, RedState Nation. Big News for you creative types. Dr. Stephen T. Colbert is holding a "McCain GreenScreen Challenge"! What's a green-screen challenge? Well, if you have to ask, then there's really no point in you reading this post any further.
I kid. I kid.
O.k., so here's the deal. As y'all know, Senator McCain gave a speech the other night that was, shall we say, less than enthralling. And Dr. Colbert, being the caring soul that he is, decided to help McCain out by spicing up his newly-released green background--which, btw, should be used about as often as Notre Dame busts out those awful green jerseys--to make his speech more interesting. You can see the results in the video below the fold (start at the 2:20 mark):
Posted in Miscellanea | Stephen Colbert — Comments (0)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 11:49am on May 9, 2008 Obama on judges
Protecting the Powerless?
By Feddie
Here is Senator Obama describing what he will look for in a judge if elected president:
[W]hat I do want is a judge who is sympathetic enough to those who are on the outside, those who are vulnerable, those who are powerless, those who can't have access to political power and as a consequence can't protect themselves from being being dealt with sometimes unfairly, that the courts become a refuge for justice. That's been its historic role. That was its role in Brown v Board of Education.
Except for unborn babies, of course.
UPDATE (Dan McLaughlin): San Diego Union-Tribune cartoonist Steve Breen made this same point with a cartoon worth a thousand words during the Alito hearings:
Cartoon below the fold...
Posted in Abortion | Judicial Activism | Judicial Appointments | Life Issues — Comments (47)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 1:31pm on May 8, 2008 Senator Chuck Grassley's attack on religious liberty
"Have you now, or have you ever been, a preacher of the prosperity gospel?"
By Feddie
Senator Chuck Grassley is apparently not a big fan of those who preach some variant of the "prosperity gospel." In fact, this form of ministry troubles Grassley so much that this past winter he decided to use his considerable power as the "former chairman and now Ranking Member on the Senate Finance Committee" to launch a full-blown investigation into the operational affairs of six "prosperity-gospel" ministries: Without Walls International Church; World Healing Center Church, Inc./Benny Hinn Ministries; Joyce Meyer Ministries; World Changers Church International; Kenneth Copeland Ministries; and New Birth Missionary Baptist Church.
(Please continue reading below the fold)
Posted in Charles Grassley | religious bigotry | Religious Liberty | Republicans — Comments (145)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 4:54pm on Apr. 16, 2008 McCain at his finest
The good senator from Arizona stands up for a Culture of Life
By Feddie
Many social conservatives (including yours truly) have, at times, questioned Senator McCain's commitment to the pro-life cause. Well, last night I was watching Chris Matthews's Hardball College Tour interview with the good senator, and I must say that I was extremely impressed with his performance. His finest moment by far, in my humble opinion, was the strong stand he took for a Culture of Life in this country:
(fast forward to the 1:35 mark)
Well done, Senator McCain. I am proud to support you.
Posted in 2008 | John McCain — Comments (6)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 9:25pm on Mar. 29, 2008 Barack Obama: "Babies are just like STDs"
By Feddie
I wonder if Senator Obama picked this rhetoric up from his pastor:
Look, I got two daughters — 9 years old and 6 years old," he said. "I am going to teach them first about values and morals, but if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby. I don't want them punished with an STD at age 16, so it doesn't make sense to not give them information."
Posted in 2008 | Barack Obama — Comments (104)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 10:05pm on Mar. 20, 2008 Attention RedStaters
By Feddie
This kind of rhetoric is not helpful:
So now I ask my Huckabee supporting SoCon wing, is this the guy you really want in charge? Still drinking the Koolaid that he should come back and run knowing that he is an apologist for a virulent racist? Or did that Kool-Aid suddenly start to taste a little funny? Just thought I should share for all my friends on the social wing, a FYI, from the neo-cons.
Look, if you want to bash Huckabee for his comments regarding Rev. Wright, then by all means, have at it. But let's not bring back the nastiness of the primary season while we're at it.
I am a former Huckabee supporter, and I now proudly support the nominee of our party, Senator John McCain. Let's all work together to get him elected, and leave the past in the past, shall we? No good can come of attacking former Huckabee supporters. So, let's resolve here and now to postpone smacking one another around until after John McCain is elected.
O.k.?
Posted in 2008 — Comments (164)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 8:43pm on Mar. 15, 2008 Peering into the demented mind of the America-hating left
By Feddie
When I am not blogging here or at my personal blog, Southern Appeal, I occasionally blog at another group blog, Vox Nova, dedicated to addressing various and sundry Catholic issues. I think it is fair to say that Vox Nova is a left-leaning blog, but, to my co-bloggers' credit, they invited me on to provide a different, more conservative perspective.
Well, recently, there was some discussion at Vox Nova over Reverend Wright's disgraceful comments about our great republic, with several commenters defending those vile statements, along with a few of my co-bloggers. And it will come as no surprise to y'all that many of these folks are also big-time Obama supporters.
So, I thought to myself: I wonder what would happen if I published a simple post with an image of the American Flag and the lyrics to God Bless America, and nothing more. Well, the result is nothing short of remarkable; and it is hardly atypical. These folks really loathe their own country.
This is nothing new, of course, but it always amazes me when I see it up close and personal.
Update: Three of my co-bloggers at Vox Nova--Nate, Policraticus, and Morning's Minion--have prepared posts in response to my "God Bless America" post, which I commend to y'all for different perspectives on this issue.
Posted in Liberals — Comments (22)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 10:34pm on Mar. 12, 2008 On McCain and Hagee
By Feddie
I am not going to mince words. I don't care for John Hagee, the senior pastor of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas. I realize this may offend some of RedState's evangelical readers, but that's certainly not my intent; and I hope they will, at the very least, understand why a faithful Catholic might take offense at someone referring to his beloved Church as "the Great Whore," an "apostate church," the "anti-Christ," and a "false cult system" (see also, this video of Hagee spewing his anti-Catholic nonsense).
So, needless to say, I wasn't exactly thrilled when Senator John McCain, who I strongly support, announced that he was "very honored" by Hagee's endorsement. It disturbed me greatly when Governor Huckabee associated himself with Hagee by speaking to his Church, and it bothered me as much, if not more, when McCain publicly embraced this joker.
That having been said, let's consider the facts. Senator McCain strongly repudiated Hagee's anti-Catholic views, not once, but twice:
We've had a dignified campaign, and I repudiate any comments that are made, including Pastor Hagee's, if they are anti-Catholic or offensive to Catholics. I sent two of my children to Catholic school. I categorically reject and repudiate any statement that was made that was anti-Catholic, both in intent and nature. I categorically reject it, and I repudiate it. And we can't have that in this campaign. We're trying to unite the country. We're uniting the country, not dividing it.
Now, that may not be good enough for the dems, but I think it is a damn fine statement by the good senator--certainly much more forceful than Governor Huckabee's comments when he was confronted about Hagee's views.
To be sure, I would rather McCain completely disassociate himself from Hagee, but his failure to do so (no doubt as a matter of political prudence) is not nearly enough for me to sit out an election that may, among other things, decide who gets to fill as many as three Supreme Court vacancies in the next four years. I mean, seriously, do the dems really believe that faithful Catholics are just going to sit on the sidelines this November because one of McCain's high-profile supporters is a bigoted twit? Do they honestly think that this sort of thing matters more than Senator Obama's unwillingness to support legislation designed to provide basic medical care to babies who survive botched abortions?
The bottom line is this: On the non-negotiable teachings of the Catholic Church, Senator McCain is the clear choice for faithful Catholics (even with his deeply troubling support of federal funding for embryonic stem cell research). And no amount of jeering by dems over Hagee's endorsement of McCain is going to change this fact. Besides, I would think Obama and Clinton supporters have plenty of other things to be concerned about.
Posted in 2008 | John Hagee | John McCain — Comments (122)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 10:12pm on Mar. 11, 2008 On Obama, Ferraro, and race
By Feddie
So, the big MSM controversy today is over this comment by Geraldine Ferraro:
If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept.
The Obama folks are, as expected, up in arms over the comment, and have demanded that Hillary and Ferraro do the PC-perp walk before the world-wide media and beg for their forgiveness.
Having a monster of your own making turn on you is always a tragedy, isn't it?
Anyway, let's address the merits of Ferraro's contention, shall we? Would Senator Obama be where he is today were he not black?
(Please read on)