tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79696040359906871552012-02-16T18:59:10.095-05:00“WE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES, IN ORDER TO FORM A MORE PERFECT UNION…”<br><br>The Founding Fathers were not perfect. Yet they managed to establish as close to a perfect system of government as the world has yet seen, codified in the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. This forum is a call for the nation to uphold the foundational principles upon which it was formed.Recovering Intellectualhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01809220388146266198noreply@blogger.comBlogger161100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969604035990687155.post-31557898488721148932010-01-20T09:39:00.004-05:002010-02-02T16:27:23.543-05:00

Once Obama took office with a super-majority in both houses, the Democratic motto was, “They can do it our way or we'll do it without them.” Most notably, they passed a $700 billion+ pork bill lining their own pockets but leaving the Republicans (and their constituents) out in the cold — the most monumental case of corruption this nation has ever seen.No more. Massachusetts independents decided

Recovering Intellectualhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01809220388146266198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969604035990687155.post-32723882903663985092009-01-22T08:29:00.006-05:002009-02-04T15:13:35.188-05:00

[Timothy] Geithner, who settled his outstanding taxes only after he was nominated to the [Secretary of the] Treasury post, said he signed his tax forms without reading them carefully. “These were careless mistakes. They were avoidable mistakes, but they were unintentional. I should have been more careful,” he said.(David Cho, “Geithner Grilled on His Past, Path Forward”, Washington Post, 22 Jan

Recovering Intellectualhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01809220388146266198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969604035990687155.post-81396308564068024352009-01-17T09:24:00.000-05:002009-01-17T09:40:50.130-05:00

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.(Preamble, Constitution of the United States, 17 September 1787)The

Recovering Intellectualhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01809220388146266198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969604035990687155.post-52071648717381955972009-01-16T22:05:00.001-05:002009-01-27T20:30:52.422-05:00

WASHINGTON, D.C. – President-elect Barack Obama wants to conclude his inaugural oath with the words “so help me God,” but a group of atheists is asking a federal judge to stop him.(“Atheists want God stricken from inaugural oath”, Yahoo, 14 Jan 2009)Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech …(

Recovering Intellectualhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01809220388146266198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969604035990687155.post-86133210187315136182009-01-02T15:01:00.001-05:002009-01-27T20:25:51.319-05:00

The head of an atheist group that has filed a lawsuit against prayer at Barack Obama's presidential inauguration says the government is picking a winner between “believers” and “those who don't believe” and subjecting atheists and agnostics to someone else's religious beliefs. …“We're hoping to stop prayer and religious rituals at governmental functions, especially at the inauguration,” Barker

Recovering Intellectualhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01809220388146266198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969604035990687155.post-7124237036386005872008-12-27T19:30:00.004-05:002009-01-27T21:11:34.822-05:00

The electoral college came into public focus in 2000 when the president elected by the college was not the candidate who won the popular vote. Many have since argued to abolish the electoral college and replace it with direct popular vote, or else institute a practice to subvert the purpose of the electoral college while leaving it technically in place. Either action would be a grave mistake, in

Recovering Intellectualhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01809220388146266198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969604035990687155.post-87722326290394763392008-11-28T18:03:00.000-05:002009-01-27T20:18:18.429-05:00

WHEN Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and his Justice and Development (AK) Party narrowly escaped banning by the constitutional court in July, the big question was which Erdogan would then come to the fore. …Mr Erdogan appears increasingly autocratic and out of touch. …The hope was that, with his legal travails behind him, the prime minister would resume much-delayed political and

Recovering Intellectualhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01809220388146266198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969604035990687155.post-52426110199193145162008-10-02T20:06:00.001-04:002009-01-27T20:44:19.133-05:00

My town is known for being progressive and tolerant. There's a sign in front of City Hall that says, “Welcome. We are seeking to build an inclusive community.” And yet, a vocal minority within the town, including several prominent leaders, have openly declared that religious tolerance is neither necessary nor desirable within our town, because religion is a “choice”. They likewise condone open

Recovering Intellectualhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01809220388146266198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969604035990687155.post-89714428226768993172008-07-31T16:40:00.002-04:002009-01-27T20:09:53.243-05:00

Turkey's ruling party has dropped for now its attempts to lift a decades-old ban on wearing Islamic head scarves in universities, a campaign that infuriated defenders of the country's secular principles …[T]he country's top court narrowly decided not to shut down the ruling party on grounds that it was trying to impose an Islamic regime. …[T]government … is locked in a power struggle with

Recovering Intellectualhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01809220388146266198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969604035990687155.post-27691857702548273192007-12-28T20:16:00.001-05:002009-01-27T20:02:13.957-05:00

Thank you for your article on the persecution — dare I say "cleansing" — of Christians in Turkey ("The cross and the crescent", Dec 19). Too often it seems as though there is a gag rule on reporting these atrocities, and similar violence against Christians in other Muslim nations, such as Saudi Arabia or Indonesia — not to mention the plight of Palestinian Christians. Certainly, the United States

Recovering Intellectualhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01809220388146266198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969604035990687155.post-77712088406304554912007-12-20T13:53:00.000-05:002009-01-27T21:29:19.173-05:00

Based on letter to the editor of the Economist:The Economist's piece on post-Perón Argentina ("Gaucho feminism", 13 Dec) ends on a bizarre note:But the prominence of women in politics has not led to feminist policies. Proposals for equal pay and abortion have got nowhere.Have abortion and rights for women become so entangled in the public mind that the Economist cannot imagine one without the

Recovering Intellectualhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01809220388146266198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969604035990687155.post-30104520861582893322007-12-19T22:29:00.000-05:002009-01-22T09:04:23.753-05:00

Letter to the editor of the Economist:Speaking as an evangelical Christian, I resonate strongly with two of Mitt Romney's points ("Baptist v Mormon", Dec 15):The First Amendment was designed to protect religious freedom, not suppress it, as some secularists would do.It is a gross violation of First Amendment principles to make personal faith an issue in a presidential election, as some

Recovering Intellectualhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01809220388146266198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969604035990687155.post-25390085003244321552007-11-10T23:32:00.002-05:002009-01-22T09:01:20.007-05:00

Letter to the editor of the Economist:I commend the Economist for the message of religious tolerance urged throughout your “special report on religion and public life” (Nov 3). I applaud your conclusion that American-style pluralism is the worst possible approach, except for all others that have been tried (“The lesson from America”). However, I was disappointed to see you perpetuate a common

Recovering Intellectualhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01809220388146266198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969604035990687155.post-33838637540738067182007-11-07T22:23:00.002-05:002009-01-22T09:12:45.125-05:00

The Economist has determined that religion will be a driving force of the 21st century ("The new wars of religion", Nov 3). The obvious response is: Duh! Can you name a century when it wasn't?There is no such thing as an irreligious person or culture. Atheists and secular humanists are as religious as anyone else. Atheists believe that billions of galaxies, each with billions of planets, came

Recovering Intellectualhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01809220388146266198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969604035990687155.post-39476683325537793822006-12-12T16:01:00.001-05:002009-01-22T08:47:55.089-05:00

A half true chain letter has been circulating. I don't forward chain letters, but the original monologue is worth repeating, especially at this time of year.From his online biography: Ben Stein … was a speech writer and lawyer for Richard Nixon at The White House and then for Gerald Ford. … He also writes frequently for The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, op. ed. and almost every other

Recovering Intellectualhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01809220388146266198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969604035990687155.post-72869003406714929442006-04-15T15:33:00.001-04:002009-01-22T08:48:31.753-05:00

There are some popular myths afloat in American politics these days, related to the relationship between faith and law. Myth 1: The Wall Some political interest groups like to refer to "the wall of separation between church and state", as if this wall were a foundational pillar of American society. As I understand, this quote refers to a letter written by Thomas Jefferson, then President of the

Recovering Intellectualhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01809220388146266198noreply@blogger.com0