Conservative Corner: Our Rights or Wrongs

When I first started writing this opinion column, about a year ago, I feared I might run out of things to write about. I thought that once I finished writing about the core issues of a middle-aged, conservative, Christian and tea party issues I would be scratching my head to find something else within the conservative mind set. Luckily for me, the American left-leaning society, liberals, and the liberal media didn’t let me down.

            To most tea party followers, conservatives, and independent minded people there are two documents that are sacred, The Constitution of the United States of America/The Bill of Rights, and The Bible. This kind of love for God and county seems to be stifled and even sometimes discouraged by the left and liberal-minded media. For the right-minded Americans, our society seems to be telling them that support of a moral Christian faith, the right to bear arms, the right to free speech and the love of country is only acceptable if it is done according to the left and liberal mind-set.

            We have seen this throughout the year. Many Christians do not adhere to the idea of abortion or the need of birth control, however, Sandra Fluke stood up in front of a House Oversight Committee to tell us that she is so sexually active she can not afford her own condoms and that it is her “right” to receive free contraception paid for by the tax payer. Liberals seem to find different ways to let us know what they think their rights are.  Is it the right of the tax payer to pay for the contraception of those who apparently have no sexual moral compass?

            For several years those on the left seem to have come to the conclusion that guns operate on their own. Many liberals have the belief that guns kill people. Therefore, in a world of pixie dust and unicorns, removing guns would eliminate all deaths in schools, malls, and public places. Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world, or a perfect country, for that matter. We all have the right to be safe, but does that mean we need to ignore the 2^nd Amendment for the sake of a few people who are mentally unstable?

            Earlier this year a Gresham bakery, Sweet Cakes by Melissa, made national news by refusing to make a cake for a lesbian wedding. The owners are Christians and they claimed making the cake for that activity is against their religious views. Critics of the action claim that the owners of the bakery are homophobic and have violated an Oregon civil rights law. Unfortunately for the critics, according to www.oregon.gov, there was no violation for not making a cake for the event.  Was there a violation of rights for the gay couple or the bakery? Maybe Sweet Cakes by Mellissa could have made a cake for the gay wedding, but then the religious rights of the bakery owner would have been violated. Again, in cases like this, whose rights are more important and supersede the other?

            More recently anyone with access to cable TV, use of a computer, or have a smart phone has probably seen the reaction of reality TV star Phil Robertson in GQ Magazine. The phrase that has apparently upset the GLAAD group, the gay community and a great deal of the liberal mindset was,  “It seems like, to me, a vagina—as a man—would be more desirable than a man’s anus. That’s just me. I’m just thinking: There’s more there! She’s got more to offer. I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I’m saying? But hey, sin: It’s not logical, my man. It’s just not logical.”, as found on www.gq.com. Robertson went on to say, “Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men,” he says. Then he paraphrases Corinthians: “Don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers—they won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Don’t deceive yourself. It’s not right.”

            The words that were reported on may seem harsh to some, however, the words that not everyone in the media heard or read were “We never, ever judge someone on who’s going to heaven, hell. That’s the Almighty’s job. We just love ’em, give ’em the good news about Jesus—whether they’re homosexuals, drunks, terrorists. We let God sort ’em out later, you see what I’m saying?” If people claim that Robertson is a homophobe for not agreeing with the gay lifestyle, does that make people who do not agree with Christianity christiphobes?

            The left promptly prosecuted Robertson for an opinion and for reading scripture, on the other hand Miley Cirus can lewdly dance on stage in front of families and she is heralded as an artist with the rights of free speech. Suppose the question is, once again, who has the most rights, a man who is exercising his 1^st Amendment guarantee of the freedom of worship, or the people who are offended too easily by what they assume to be hate speech.

            With the trash that is on TV recently and the persecution of Christianity, I believe it is safe to say who is being better protected by a skewed opinion of the 1^st Amendment. The freedom of speech is for all Americans and not just the ones who agree with the liberal media. Maybe we should think about that the next time a Christian or conservative says something that might be considered offensive to people who have been offending the right-minded people for years, the liberal left.

                                    Dkhummel.com, dkhummel.blogspot.com

Conservative Corner: The War on Christianity

One of the reasons that people came to the new world in the 16^th century was for the freedom to worship as they saw fit. Many people came to America to escape from an oppressive monarchy or government state religion. The New World provided a more independent way to live, worship, or even die, as one saw fit. Recently, however, it seems as though Christianity has come under attack from people who may or may not subscribe to the faith-based systems.

            Of all the people on the planet, 84 percent of those people have a belief in God or a higher power. Of those 5.8 billion people who affiliate themselves with a religion, 2.2 billion people adhere to the Christian faith.  Christians make up 32 percent of the entire world’s population. Unfortunately, even though Christianity is the predominate faith in the country; it seems to be under attack from other religions, atheists and the left even though it is protected by The Constitution.

            The 1^st Amendment states, “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.” Many people seem to have the idea that the “separation of church and state” belongs in this passage, but they would be incorrect. No place in the Constitution or Bill of Rights does the term “separation of church and state” appear.

            In the eyes of many conservatives, that passage was written to keep America from adopting an “official” state religion and give its citizens the freedom to worship,(or not) anyone they choose. However, many liberals seem to have the idea that the phrase, “shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion” literally means a clear separation between the church (any church) and the state and/or federal government. This liberal yearning to separate God from the government has brought on a “war” against Christianity.

            We can see the battles in various places from a child’s class room to the active military, to our courthouses and retail stores. The liberal/atheistic reach to curb, if not silence Christianity, spreads its arms far and wide. It appears as though the left hides behind the fear of being sued for “political correctness”. It seems as though our society has a fear of insulting everyone accept Christians. The ways Christians are treated today seems to be reminiscent of how the Jews were treated in Germany before WWII.

            Teachers, whether or not they are told to, bring on an anti-Christian motif in the classroom. I find it puzzling that teachers and school administrators can subject students to the common core system and the love of Obama, the Democrats and the government but not the love of God. We also see this abandonment of God in the U.S. Military.

            According to www.examiner.com, an Obama administration official want to make it so any military personal who professes to follow Christianity as a faith could be court-martialed, dishonorably discharged and face imprisonment even if they are clergy. Fanatical anti-Christian activist Mikey Weinstein is the head of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation and claims “Christians, including chaplains, sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ in the military are guilty of 'treason,' and of committing an act of 'spiritual rape' as serious a crime as 'sexual assault.' He also asserted that Christians sharing their faith in the military are 'enemies of the Constitution.” So obviously gay can openly join the military, but Christians are forbidden to share their message. It looks as though the United States Government is trying to stifle the freedom of speech among its military ranks.

            The left has been trying for years to keep any form of God out of the schools, even going as far as taking “one nation under God” out of the pledge. Opponents claim that Christianity unfairly targets other religions, however, since Christianity composes 80 percent of the population of the country that is like a political party complaining because their candidate didn’t win an election. I keep hearing about how Christianity in the public schools is an insult to other religions. Unfortunately, no one seems to worry about insulting Christians. Schools are intended for learning and not hate of fear. Another place the fear exists is the market place. People seem to fear saying Merry Christmas is stores as to avoid not insulting someone who is not Christian.

            It is commonly know that Christmas is not the only holiday that Americans celebrate, but it is the one that is most widely celebrated. Most people, if they can identify a person’s belief system, will give them a customary holiday greeting, however, since most people in America either are Christians or follow Christian holiday customs, Saying Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays is not a sin.

            In 2005 Wal-Mart chose to have its employees use the greeting “Happy Holidays” and not Merry Christmas in order not to offend anyone who may not celebrate Christmas, another attempt at giving more respect to other religions at Christmas. Wal-Mart has since change their decisions on the greeting, at least in their local stores, unfortunately, other people have not.

            For 20 years the Santa Anna Court House in Orange County California proudly displayed a Christmas tree, but in 2009 “someone complained” and forced the tree to be removed. A person who was unhappy with the display claimed the holiday decoration was part of a “vast right wing conspiracy”, according to newsantaana.com.

            Many people do recognize that Jesus Christ was most likely not born on December 25^th in the year 0000, or that Mary and Joseph didn’t not have a tree, or have a yule log, but does any of that truly matter? Christmas is a truly wonderful time of the year when the best of people come out. More people give to charities, attend social functions and spend more time with family than any other time of the year. The smile of the little children, the lights on the house and tree, the music in the air can tame even the coldest Grinch. Even Ebenezer Scrooge saw the error of his ways after the visits from the three ghosts. It is very unlikely that even the most intense atheist will never see a spirit to convince him of how special the season really is, but does that give them the right to ruin it for those who do belive?

            It’s a shame that people, no matter what their belief, or lack thereof, feel the need to destroy the magic of the season of Christmas. And whether you believe it or not, Jesus is the reason for the season. Not where he was born or when he was born, but that the Son of God was indeed born. It was at that time that God gave us the best gift ever, his son. So the next time you wish to bestow upon someone a delightful holiday greeting, please say the greeting that best describes what the season is really all about and be wary of the liberals who chose to wage some kind of war upon the largest faith group in the world, the Christians.

            Above all else, please be of good cheer this holiday season and remember the reason why we celebrate Christmas, the birth of Jesus.

                                                             Merry Christmas

       

                                          Dkhummel.com, dkhummel.blogspot.com

Conservative Corner: The Negative Reflection of Racism

Our founding fathers, in their ultimate wisdom, designed our Constitution to be molded along with the needs of the American people. Anyone with the will, drive and desire can become that certain person who represents the people in local, state, and federal governments.

            Most any elected official or politically active person will tell you if you want to change the laws and policies in your community, getting elected to a city council or school board is a great way to start. This fall that very thing happened in Houston, Texas. Dave Wilson claimed he was tired of “all the shenanigans", according to www.khou.com, and wanted to change some things at the Houston Community College System. Mr. Wilson was faced with a major challenge. He is an older white conservative Republican in a predominately black Democrat area. To help with the campaign he had printed up fliers that some called questionable at best.

            The mailer featured anonymous photos of black people and an endorsement from Ron Wilson, a long time black representative in the Houston area. Unfortunately, the Ron Wilson the flier was referring to was Dave Wilson’s cousin and not the respected representative. That information was noted on the flier in small print. The flier also begged the voter to “Please vote for our friend and neighbor Dave Wilson.” According to www.politico.com Mr. Wilson claimed “It’s a sales job. I’m trying to get votes and trying to get people to support me and I wanted to focus on the issues.”

            Maybe Dave Wilson shouldn’t have used random faces on his fliers or lead people to assume that he meant a different endorsement, but was his campaign as “pathetic” as www.chron.com, a local Houston paper, called it?

            If Mr. Wilson’s campaign was racist, what is more racist, a white man trying to connect to his future constituents who happen to be a black majority, or a community who have a black majority and may not vote for a candidate because of the color of his skin? Maybe the people of Houston aren’t as racist as they appear. Mr. Wilson won the seat on the board by 26 votes. Perhaps the people of Houston voted on the issues and not Wilson’s race. The local TV station, www.khou.com, reported Mr. Wilson as saying, "I'd always said it was a long shot," Wilson says. "No, I didn't expect to win."

            Was Dave Wilson’s campaign wrong and racist? Perhaps he could have been a bit more honest regarding his endorsement, but does that make him a racist?  Some may consider his actions morally wrong, however, no more wrong than other political and social leaders.

 Calif., Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters screamed out “The tea party can go to hell!” during a town hall meeting in 2011. According to www.americanthinker.com, Texas Democrat congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee said "Differ with Barack Obama and you’re a Racist". Even during the 2008 and 2012 elections members of the Black Panthers intimidated white voters by deploying themselves outside of voting booths according to www.wnd.com.  We have gotten over black racism enough to elect a black man to the highest office in the land twice even with a long list of scandals including fast and furious, Benghazi, the IRS targeting conservative groups and many more.  

            In a way of speaking, yes, racism is alive and well in America, and the President help cement the division between the skin color of our fellow countrymen with his assessment of the Trayvon Martin case. You can see the racist views in many people when a hoodlum in a hoody violently attacked a Hispanic neighborhood watchman who tried to defend himself and was called the racist term, “crazy-ass cracker”, for trying save his own life.

            On November 11 of this year Oprah Winfrey said in a BBC interview that whites hate Obama because he’s black. She went on to say that “racists need to die”.  A few days later she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. That is one heck of an award for such a hateful statement.

            There was ugly time in our past when we judged people by how dark their skin is. There may be some white people who still do, however, when was the last time you saw a life ruined due to being racist to a black person? Today being labeled a racist against blacks is like putting a target on your forehead. Groups like the NAACP and “civil rights” leaders like Al Sharpton, and Jesse Jackson seem to make it a point to only target white people even if they are not completely Caucasian.

            Today’s world seems backwards from even 30 years ago. It seems as though we have went from discriminating against blacks to blaming whites for being racists. It is a shame, even after all these years we still can’t look past our skin to find the goodness in people. In the immortal words Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we need to “not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” I believe also applies to everyone.

                                                Dkhummel.com, dkhummel.blogspot.com/

Conservative Corner: Conservative Voting Woes

Throughout the history of America we have been blessed by our Founding Fathers with the gift of choosing of who will represent us in our state and federal government. This is a unique action that doesn’t just happen anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, this sacred and patriotic activity has been skewed by greed, corruption, lies and, dare and I say laziness.  

Granted, many young people and first time voters may not follow or understand the effects of Congress, The Office of the President, or local politics on them, but they will affect everyone nonetheless. Many older and more experienced voters know this well. Many times the vote of the American Citizen has been violated with their elected official falling to the pressures of special interests and political gain. This has also caused many voters to just give up and stop exercising their civic duties. Unfortunately, this is where our system begins to fail.

We all know that it is quite easy for a person to become seduce by the dark side of politics. Money, power and influence are something’s that many people cannot resist, especially when their morality may be questionable. This is one of the reasons why many voters have lost faith in Congress and the President. A recently Gallup poll places the Congress approval rating at 11 percent. The Presidential ratings aren’t much better. Despite a number of scandals throughout the Obama Administration, Obama’s approval ratings are surprisingly high. According to a recent Gallup poll, Obama went from a 68 percent approval rating in February of 2009 to 41 percent this last October. 

To Republicans and conservatives in Oregon’s 3^rd Congressional District, a U.S. Senate seat seems to be out of reach. The last time a Republican held the office of Senator of the 3^rd district was October 1 of 1995. To some younger voters that is a life time. With all the time that left-leaning Democrats have been in office, it’s a wonder when, if ever, the conservative voice in this part of Oregon will be heard.

According to www.uselections.com there are 4 Republicans and one Independent running against the Democrats for Oregon’s 3rd U.S. Senate District seat. They are Mark Callahan®, Sam Carpenter®, Jo Rae Perkins®, Monica Wehby®, and Karl King(I). To represent the silent “minority”, also known as Oregon conservatives, the candidates must, at least, be smart, tough, and well in touch with the people of the district in which they are representing. Unfortunately, there are forces that are holding back the conservative vote. With the liberal voting power of Eugene, Springfield, Salem and Portland, it may be a long time until a conservative voice gets a U.S. Senate seat for Oregon.

The Democrat/liberal wall in Oregon doesn’t stop there. The mass media, fueled with the financial power of the Democrat Party, represents a “David and Goliath” situation for any who tries to run against them. This is quite evident in the last Senate race. Art Robinson received a great deal of support in the Mid-Valley with support signs that were reminiscent of the old Berma-Shave advertisements. Unfortunately, TV spots and radio ads put forth very unpleasant view and sometimes personal insults against Mr. Robinson. It’s no wonder that Republicans and conservatives seem to be fighting a losing uphill battle.

Its situations like this that make many Republicans, conservatives, and conservative-minded independents not want to vote. Even the referendums that conservatives vote to support get suspended or denied by liberal-leaning judges and state officials. With the election of the Democrat/liberal/progressive president, U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, Governor, and promotional media, I think it’s same to assume the liberal/progressives in the 3^rd district of Oregon can sit back on their laurels and enjoy the mess Oregon has become. Nonetheless, it is not the end, another election is coming. Oregon can return to its former grandeur.

 I implore the Republicans, conservatives and conservative-minded independents in Oregon to keep your heads up, get to know all of the candidates running for all of Oregon’s political seats, and vote. An informed voter is a good voter. If you are not registered to vote, please do so, and above all (even if you are a progressive liberal), please vote. The system only works if all of the people make it work.

Dkhummel.com, dkhummel.blogspot.com