Maybe it’s just me, but doesn’t this story from CNS News sound like something you’d expect to from “Great Leader” Kim Il-sung in North Korea:
“Federal contractors receiving money for projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act )—the $862 billion economic stimulus law President Barack Obama signed in February 2009—have been encouraged and, in some cases, required by the administration to post signs that say their work is funded by that specific act, a measure some congressional Republicans are calling propaganda for the administration.”
Once again, and not surprising (though terribly disappointing), all too many Americans, especially President Barack Obama, have this whole mosque brouhaha all discombobulated.
Obama says opposition to a mosque being proposed for a couple blocks away from Ground Zero would be an affront to our constitutional principles surrounding freedom of religion.
First, he and others always seem to miss the part in the Constitution that says “Congress shall make no law…” In this case, Congress isn’t contemplating or proposing any law banning the construction of the mosque so there’s no violation of the Constitution. Secondly, subject to zoning laws, the folks building this mosque on private property should have every right to do so.
On the other hand, Americans who find such a prospect outrageous and highly offensive are simply exercising their own constitutional rights – those of freedom of speech, freedom of association and freedom to petition the government – in an effort to stop it. They are perfectly within their constitutional rights, as well, and may ultimately be successful in persuading the developers to move the mosque without the involvement of Congress or the courts.
In other words, as messy as it is the system is working exactly as the Founders intended.
From the Los Angeles Times on Monday: “Despite thousands of layoffs and shrinking budgets, California schools — as well as the state’s largest school system, Los Angeles Unified — posted gains in scores on annual standardized tests released Monday.”
So now we know the secret to improving public education: Fewer employees and less money. So let it be written; so let it be done!