GOP Likes Big Brother Looking Over Our Shoulders

Big Brother In Action

Although the Republican Party spends so much time campaigning on the issue of keeping Big Bad Government out of our lives, they frequently support legislation that fosters government intervention in our private lives. The list of such legislation is quite long, ranging from the so-called Patriot Act to legislation about abortion and homosexuality.


The most recent attack on our privacy is a bill passed by the Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee. This bill would require ISPs (Internet Service Providers) to retain subscriber records for government surveillance.And, as with the Patriot Act, they label the legislation after a desirable outcome rather than a description of what it does. In this case, using their "the-end-justifies-the-means" philosophy, they tell us that the legislation will help law enforcement track down pedophiles. Perhaps it will, just as executing all convicted felons would reduce crime, but that is the reason our founding fathers had the foresight to limit the powers of government.


"The bill is mislabeled," Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), a senior member of the panel told CNET. "This is not protecting children from Internet pornography. It's creating a database for everybody in this country for a lot of other purposes." (Eric Dolan, The Raw Story, July 28, 2011)


Obviously the bill should be called "The Internet Data Retention Act."


"The data retention mandate in this bill would treat every Internet user like a criminal and threaten the online privacy and free speech rights of every American, as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have recognized," Senior Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston of the Electronic Frontier Foundation said. (cf. Dolan, above)


It is time American voters  realize that many Republicans do not really believe in their own  Libertarian rhetoric. They seem all too comfortable with allowing Big Brother to look over our shoulders.

Woody Hayes in Bronze

Sculpture of Woody Hayes

College Football in general and  OSU football in particular seems to inspire fans to use their artistic skills to express themselves in praise of the game they love. You may recall the elaborate lego recreation of the "Horshoe" (www.mocpages.com) by engineer, Paul Janssen.


The Most recent example is Andy Sacksteder of Fostoria, Ohio, an avid Ohio State fan and a part-time sculptor. He has created a life-size sculpture of the legendary OSU coach, Woody Hayes. His work has been publicized in Northwest Ohio in the Toledo Blade and WTOL TV, but I am posting it here for those members of the Buckeye Nation scattered across the country and around the world.


One can view photos of this sculpture and other examples of Andy's work by going to: andystacksteder.com

Right-wing Domestic Terrorism is a Hot Potato

Anders Breivik (Andrew Berwick)

The tragic attacks on the government of Norway reminded many of us of Timothy McViegh's attack on the Oklahoma City Federal Government Building. The accused terrorist, Anders Breivik, is a right-wing fundamentalist who has written "An European Declaration of Independence" advising Christians to use violence to drive Muslims from Europe by giving advice on building bombs, making poisons, and honing their marksmanship with video games.


Just as in the case of McViegh, if Breivik is found guilty,  it will be a case of a home-grown, right-wing, terrorist who attacked his fellow citizens. In addition, the Norway case seems to add another layer; fundamentalist Christians versus Muslims.


Neither Norway nor the US should be surprised that domestic terrorism is a real threat to the safety of the citizenry. A former Homeland Security terrorism analyst, Daryl Johnson, was the main author of the April 7, 2009 report: "Right-wing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment,"  This document warned us that home-grown terrorists are a grave threat to our security. Unfortunately, once this document was leaked,  the political right went into a fearful rage thinking that law enforcement might consider all conservatives as possible domestic terrorists. (An interesting example of stereotypical thinking.) Following the conservative criticism, the unit that investigated non-Islamic domestic terrorism was reduced from six analysts to just one. As a result, according to Johnson, "We are more vulnerable." (SPCLC Report, Summer 2011).


We, as a country, must face the fact that we have fellow citizens who are racist, xenophobic, anti-Muslim, fundamentalist Christians who think that Government of and by the people is their enemy and are willing to use violence to attack it. We should not, therefore, institute draconian measures to deprive these people of their rights, but we should devote as much of our vigilance to safeguard against them as we do foreign terrorists.


As for conservative Americans, one would hope that they too want to prevent home-grown terrorists from killing innocent Americans.

Eric Cantor: A Profile in Self-interested Cowardice

Our generation, the generation which understood the lessons of the Great Depression (deprivation and sacrifice) and World War II (courage and sacrifice for the common good), understood what John F. Kennedy described in Profiles in Courage, an account of eight American politicians who were able to place the good of the country above their own political self-interests.


Today, unfortunately, it is difficult to find courageous politicians like Daniel Webster or Sam Houston. On the other hand, we have a group who could be featured in Profiles in Cowardice. The leading contender for a prominent chapter would, of course, be Eric Cantor, the Virginia Republican who wears a constant sneer and views compromise with derision. In his quest for power, he is willing to risk the full faith and credit of the United States. If  our country does not raise the debt limit and defaults, we have Mr. Cantor to thank. He is more interested in his power struggle with Speaker John Boehner and preventing tax increases for his wealthy friends than he is the "general Welfare" of our country as stipulated in the Constitution.


According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Mr. Cantor chose a revealing quote to accompany his senior prep-school photo: "I want what I want when I want it." (cf. Dana Milbank, Washington Post Writers Group). That quote reflects the same self-interested attitude of those politicians who, along with Eric Cantor, deserve a chapter in Profiles in Cowardice.

Another Example of Catholic Bishops' Misogamy

Catholic Bishop Leonard Blair of Toledo has issued an edict that Catholic schools and parishes can no longer raise funds for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, an organization that supports breast cancer research and  breast cancer education. His reason for this bizarre action: the Susan G. Komen Fund "might" someday in the future fund stem cell research. The Bishop admits that Komen does not donate funds to stem cell research but fears that they may in the future. By  extending the Bishop's logic, Catholics should stop raising funds for the American Cancer Society, the Heart Association, the Kidney Foundation, the Prostrate Cancer Research Fund and every other organization that "might some day in the future" donate funds to stem cell research.

But no, the Catholic Bishop of Toledo specifically identifies the Susan G. Komen Fund as the one fund Catholics should not support. This is the one fund that deals directly with breast cancer, which is primarily a women's issue. It does not take a genius to recognize that the same bishop who is also "investigating" Catholic nuns is choosing to single out a fund dedicated to women's health.

And then Catholic Bishops like Blair (Toledo), Schnurr (Cincinnati), and Olmsted (Phoenix) wonder why we view them as misogynists.

One has to wonder:  under what rock did the Vatican find these guys?