Will Freedom of the Press Fall in Winter?

I like to consider myself a "Constitutionalist" - I'm a big fan of the United States Constitution. I believe it to be one of the most inspired governmental documents that mankind has ever conceived.

I believe that in court rulings it should be interpreted narrowly by modern jurists.

I also believe that the Constitution as originally conceived by our nation's Founding Fathers was inspired by God Almighty, and that America has received blessings over our history because of a continued striving towards what we stated from the very beginning when we declared ourselves free: that "men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."

The U.S. Constitution has built into it an 'amendment' process, a means of altering, adding to, or taking away from the freedoms guaranteed to "We the People" by our nation and it's laws.

This amendment process has been successfully utilized to do just that in the past. There have been 27 amendments to the Constitution which have been 'ratified', or passed into law by the states.

The first ten of these amendments came almost immediately. Within a couple of years of the original Constitution being ratified, the first ten amendments had been proposed and added.

Christianity Clearly Under Attack in America

When you see the atrocities taking place in Syria today, as well as in other areas of the Middle East, involving the burning of Christian churches and the destruction of entire Christian communities, it really makes you thankful that you live here, in America.

America, where Christians are safe. Not only safe, but where Christian ideals are front and center, a difference maker, a vital, indispensable part of our founding principles. You know, America, the protector of religious freedom.

 The nation founded by leaders such as George Washington, who once told the Delaware Indian chiefs "You do well to learn our arts and our ways of life and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ." Such as Thomas Jefferson, who said "I am a real Christian - that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ." Such as Benjamin Franklin, who said "As to Jesus of Nazareth, my opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think the system of morals and his religion, as he left them to us, is the best the world ever saw, or is likely to see."

The United States of America, a nation clearly founded by Christian men and women, and clearly built up over the centuries by many more of the same, such as Abraham Lincoln: "Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity, and a firm reliance on Him, who has never yet forsaken this favored land, are still competent to adjust, in the best way, all our present difficulty."

Yet it is here, in that very America, where a large, increasingly hostile, increasingly antagonistic segment of society is actively moving on the attack against Christian morals and ethics. I believe that we are seeing the beginnings of an attempt to erase the practice of the Christian faith itself in America and around the globe. If it falls here in the United States, what other nation can hope to keep the faith standing?

Pensions Not the Problem

Last night the local Fox News affiliate here in Philadelphia chose to devote a large portion of their 10:00pm news program spotlighting what they call "The Pension Problem" in Philadelphia, New Jersey and other places. In calling pensions the problem, Fox misled the public and missed an opportunity to highlight the truth for tax-payers.

Once again, the local news media, this time Fox in particular, cow-towed to liberal politicians and let them off the hook for a mess that they singularly have created. But not only that, they also portrayed hard-working city and state employees as the problem, seemed to be trying to pit tax-payers against pensioners, and never once keyed on the real problem.

That real problem? Out of control spending on issues, services, and frankly outright budgetary 'pork' over decades and decades as well as regular, intentional under-funding of employee pensions. All of that going on with little to no outcry from media watchdogs.

Fox missed an opportunity when they once again identified the real problems improperly in stating that "Pensions are at the heart of budget troubles in the state of New Jersey and in the city of Philadelphia."

Pensions are not the problem, politicians are the problem. Politicians who spend money that the city's citizens simply do not have and never did have on programs that make them feel and look better.

No, I am not going to take any time whatsoever to point out any particular program or project that I feel falls into this category. I will make one simple statement, however. If any fiscal conservative individual had been put in charge, this would not have happened.

Britt Hume's Advice to Tiger Woods

Everyone pretty much knows the story of Tiger Woods' recent fall from grace. It became public that the mega-star athlete and corporation head was a serial adulterer.

The married Woods is the father of two kids in diapers and cashed in greatly not only on his golfing acumen, but also on a squeaky-clean family man image.

Since the numerous affairs began to become public on Turkey Day following a late night domestic incident and auto accident at his home, Woods' sponsorship deals have disappeared and his golf career put on hold as his family disintegrated in public.

Into this mess last Sunday waded Fox News political analyst and veteran newsman Britt Hume. On the program 'Fox News Sunday', the network's key Sunday news offering on major events, the panel participants were commenting on the big stories in the coming year. In the category of sports, Hume decided to tackle the immediate future of Tiger Woods, opining that Woods would indeed recover his golfing career this year.

However, Hume did not stop there. He went on to add that though Woods, who is believed to be a follower of Buddhism in his religious leanings, would indeed regain his golfing status, he might have a more difficult time in battling and overcoming his personal moral demons. Here is the full, exact quote by Hume at it's relevant point:

"My message would be to Tiger..turn to the Christian faith, and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world."

2009 American of the Year: Glenn Beck

This was a year of tremendous change for America, and the vast majority of it was not for the good. Our national debt, already out of control as the year began, has now soared to previously unimaginable levels.

Our government has taken over control of large portions of private industry, and is poised to take over even more in the coming years.

On the international front, we have become indecisive and noncommittal in fighting a war against a determined Islamofascist enemy that continues to look for ways to attack us, kill our citizens, and deal crippling blows to our economy and our way of life. Thanks to recent election results, we face a future of increasing debt and taxation and decreasing personal freedom and liberty.

Not willing to stand by and simply whine and complain on the airwaves, radio talk show host Glenn Beck took his blossoming television program from CNN's Headline News and moved to the Fox News network in early 2009. This move allowed him to get out from under the umbrella of the liberal mandate of CNN and into the Fox world that allows fair and balanced reporting of all sides of the issues.

Beck then began a year-long education of the American people on civics, history, and current events that was quite simply not being discussed anywhere else in any clear and consistent manner. For his efforts as a truthful voice crying out in the wilderness, and for his out-front leadership of traditional America, this website is proud to name Glenn Beck as it's 2009 American of the Year.

Where Were You?

I've already heard it asked in my office, on the radio, and in a couple of other venues this morning: Where were you when you first heard about the attacks on 9/11? The answers have been numerous, from people sitting in their cars in traffic, to folks working as police officers here in Philly, to folks who had the day off and were watching it all on television.

Being a police officer who has worked the 'Last Out' shift for a few years, meaning that I worked a steady shift of overnight hours from approximately 11pm until 7am, I have often speculated that there must have been at least some officers of the NYPD who worked overnight and had just gotten home and in bed by 8am or so on the morning of September 11th, 2001. I was usually in bed by that time after working that shift myself.

I can imagine such an officer sleeping away their day, perhaps with their cellphone off or on 'silent' and with their home phone ring turned off. Again, this was my habit after working overnight. The last thing that I wanted to have happen was for anyone to wake me up for anything, let alone for some random call from work to reach me. Who could ever imagine receiving the call that those officers may have missed and later found on their answering machines?

Imagine those officers working all night, getting home on a typical Tuesday morning, and then waking up at around 3pm before finally hearing from some source: a phone message, the news on television or radio, some friend or neighbor in person telling them what had happened. Of course your first call is going to be in to your work place, and then begins the likely process of getting ready to head in to work, possibly having to make some special travel arrangements to get there.

All of that is speculative, but it takes no stretch of the imagination to consider that there were probably hundreds of such officers in New York city on that fateful day. Where was I that morning? I would imagine it's pretty typical, and typically uninteresting. I was assigned as a Detective with the Northeast Detective Division of the Philadelphia Police Department at the time, but was on a scheduled day off.

At about 7:15am I had left our home in the Somerton section of Philadelphia to drive our daughter Melissa to school. She had just begun her sophomore year at Archbishop Ryan High School in the Far Northeast section of the city, and it took me about 35 minutes to get her over to the building and out of the car, and drive back to our house.

I had been logged on to my home PC before we left, checking my email while waiting for Melissa to finish getting herself ready, and was listening to Philly's local "smooth jazz" radio station. It was such a beautiful morning when we left, and the mood with the jazz music was so mellow, that I left it playing so that I could return to this same atmosphere.

I got back and things were just as I had hoped. The day was still blossoming in gorgeous style with mellow temperatures and a high, clear blue sky. The jazz music was keeping that atmosphere just as mellow inside my house, and I sat back down to the computer. Many mornings would find me turning on and following Fox News, but this morning the music was so perfect for the day that I just left it play and kept out the news of the world.

At about 9am, my home phone rang, and it was my wife Debbie calling. She had a bit of an excited tone to her voice as she quickly asked "Are you watching TV?" I told her that I wasn't, and she replied "Well turn it on, they just bombed our embassy!" I told her okay, and we quickly hung up the phone. But I didn't turn on the TV right away. She called back a couple minutes later and said "Do you have the TV on?" When I told her that I hadn't turned it on yet, she more insistently told me "Turn it on!"

So I grabbed the remote and clicked on the television, wondering what could be upsetting her so much about one of our embassies being bombed. Not that it wouldn't be a big story, but I just didn't understand why she would be calling from her work about it. As the screen came in to view there on Fox was a picture of the first Twin Tower in the minutes after it had been struck. I told her "That's not an embassy, it's the Twin Towers, and a plane hit it" She just told me to keep it on, that they were talking about a possible terrorist attack, and we again hung up.

As I sat back and watched those early confusing moments, something almost unreal happened on the screen. While they were talking about a plane hitting the tower, and speculating on the nature of that crash, suddenly there was another jet coming in to view in the picture. In the split second that it took for the mind to go from "What the heck is a plane doing flying that low when one already hit the tower" to "Oh my God!" the second plane struck the second Twin Tower.

At that immediate instant it became clear that this was no accident. There was no doubt that this was an attack. Now the question was, what next? I clearly remember stopping right there and saying a prayer.

The rest of my day was filled with following the developments on Fox News and the other news channels. My wife was let out early from her work, and on her way home she picked up our daughter from school. I found that my other two older daughters were safe, and closely followed things to see if Philadelphia would ever become involved or our officers mobilized. Neither ever happened.

That is forever how I will remember that day, that moment. The incredible peace and tranquility of that morning suddenly ended by the phone call, and then that incredible moment on television of the second plane as it hit the World Trade Center. Eight years later it still is as clear a memory as the sky was on that Tuesday morning. I imagine that it will forever remain that crystal clear, and I hope and pray that there is never another day like it, or worse, in our nations future.

No Monkeying Around With Obama

To say that the world has gone overboard with political correctness is an understatement, and this is nowhere more visible than in the world of editorial cartoons.

You learned in recent years that you can't draw an editorial cartoon of the Islamic prophet Muhammed without risk of being shot dead, blown up or decapitated by some radical Islamic lunatic.

Having a sense of humor is an integral part of the human experience. And in democratic societies, freedom of speech including a free press is a vital piece of our civilization puzzle.

But it's not just the radical Islamic world that has lost its collective sense of humor, or at the very least its willingness to allow sarcastic expression. The more radical members of the black community here in America are at it again as well. Write or draw something that those people don't like, and they are all over you like white on rice.

Oops, did I call them 'those people'? Better be careful, they might find something to take as a personal affront in a few typewritten words. I might get a letter from the NAACP and some choice comments from Al Sharpton.

Last week a woman in Connecticut was severely mauled when her friend's pet chimpanzee got loose and attacked her. A frantic call went out to 9-1-1, and the responding police officers were faced with the chimpanzee attacking them. They had no choice but to shoot the animal dead. It was a major story all over the network news.

Another major story in the news recently has been the alleged 'stimulus' bill that the majority of Americans were against, but which President Barack Obama and his Democratic Party cohorts in Congress decided to ram down our throats anyway.

Into the fray stepped cartoonist Sean Delonis, a famed satirist who took the big monkey story and decided to merge it with the stimulus bill story.

Television & the Presidency as a Time Machine

I was sitting at home this past Saturday night, just flicking around the dial, when a newly produced special report on the Fox News Channel titled "Television & the Presidency" caught my eye.

Being a bit of a history buff, especially American history, it was right up my alley: a historical perspective on the role that television has played in Presidential politics.

As I settled in the program moved quickly through Jimmy Carter's lame Presidency in the late 1970's. Those Carter years were fresh in my own experience, since I turned 15 years old right after his election.

Carter was basically the President of my high school years, and it wasn't pretty. The man was supposed to be some kind of genius. At least that was how the press sold him. But he just couldn't seem to solve any of the big problems that came along, from the gas crisis to unemployment to ballooning interest rates to the emergence of radical islam.

Every time a problem raised it's head, Carter talked and talked and got nothing done to solve it. At least that was my perspective as a teenager, but what did I know? And besides, it didn't matter, I didn't have a vote...yet.

In the fall of 1979, among the many other changes happening in my life, I turned 18 years old and had finally reached the age where I could register to vote. My family was historically a Democratic one, and the Party seemed to easily fit the liberal ideals that most appropriately espoused my own philosophy at the time, so I registered Democrat.

Mendte's Muse-Gone-Wrong

First, for those who may be from out-of-town and don't know the players, Larry Mendte is a former local TV news anchor, a typical middle-aged white male.

Alycia Lane is a younger, very attractive former co-anchor of Mendte's.

Dawn Stensland is an attractive, popular local news anchor and married to Mendte, mother to his two youngest children.

Mendte and Lane have been fired in the last few months for controversial incidents.

Lane was involved in a late-night dust up with undercover cops in New York, one of a string of controversies surrounding the nubile news beauty.

Mendte was canned for tapping into Lane's email accounts and leaking negative stories about her to the press. Mendte subsequently faced federal charges for the privacy violations, and pled guilty to those yesterday and now awaits sentencing in the matter. Stensland is steadfastly and classily standing by her man.

Islamism Series: Honor Killings

Amina and Sara Said (right), killed by their father (left)

Let's get the Islamofascist rants out of the way with right off the bat.

Yes, America is a society where murder has become epidemic in some communities, and domestic homicides are nothing at all peculiar to only the Muslim community.

That much is obvious simply by watching a few weeks of the 'Nancy Grace' program on CNN's Headline News network, were the latest murder of an attractive woman by a husband or boyfriend is the topic of discussion at least 50% of the time.

People kill people for many reasons, and some kill people that they do now, or at least used to love. What the topic of this post discusses is the particular problem of Islamic 'honor killing', which is indeed peculiar to that community.

The newsworthiness to the American public is that the phenomenon is new here, is growing, and is taking the lives of American citizens.

Tomorrow night, Saturday July 25th, at 8pm, Fox News reporter Megyn Kelly will host a special titled "Murder in the Family: Honor Killing in America" in which she will discuss the problem.

It is a horrific story of fathers killing daughters, brothers killing sisters, husbands killing wives, all in order to restore their families' 'honor'. Kelly is an outstanding reporter and host, and this program should prove as eye-opening as it's title implies.

R.I.P. Tony Snow

There is plenty of coverage across the Internet and on television news programs on the death of Tony Snow, but to just let it pass without an entry here would be wrong. Tony Snow was that rare modern-day newsman who was accepted and respected by the mainstream media even though he did not subscribe to their usual liberal school of thought. Born in 1955 in Kentucky, Snow was raised in Cincinnati by his father, a school principal, and his mother who died of colon cancer when Snow was just 17 years old. He graduated from Davidson College in 1977, and began work as a newspaper editor in North Carolina for The Greensboro Record in 1979. His editorial career eventually led him to take over the editorial page at the prestigious The Washington Times from 1987-1991. Throughout the 1990's he worked as a regular columnist at USA Today, made numerous television news appearances, and also was syndicated to over 200 newspapers throughout the country. He took a sabbatical from 1991-1993 to work in the administration of President George H.W. Bush as a speech writer and media assistant. In the mid-90's, Snow took over as the regular substitute host for The Rush Limbaugh Show on radio, and in 2003 began The Tony Snow Show on Fox News radio. Snow had become one of the leading conservative voices in America, making numerous Fox News appearances and often substituting on television for Bill O'Reilly, but his professionalism and fairness gained him the respect from both sides of the aisle in Washington and from his media colleagues across the ideological spectrum. In April of 2006, Tony Snow was named as the new White House Press Secretary, the main face and voice of the administration of President George W. Bush, a position that he held until being overwhelmed by the same colon cancer that had taken the life of his mother 35 years earlier, that would eventually take his life yesterday. Tony was an avid musician who played the flute, trombone, piccolo, accordion, saxophone, and guitar. He was a part of a cover band called Beats Workin' and got to play publicly with members of Jethro Tull, the Doobie Brothers, and Steely Dan. Tony Snow is survived by his wife of 21 years, Jill Ellen Walker, two daughters and a son. Not many come along like Tony Snow, who combine class, intelligence, humor, and a general overall good-natured demeanor that comes through no matter what your opinions of his political views. During a time of severe political partisanship in America, the loss of men like Snow and Tim Russert, who passed away a few weeks ago, is a serious blow to American journalism, and a loss for us all.

Great Americans: Joey Vento

You gotta love Joey Vento of Geno's Steaks, 9th & Passyunk in South Philly.

Here is a successful businessman who owns a legendary, iconic eatery and he has the guts to publicly stand up for what is right.

One of the greatest problems that has plagued our country in the past few decades is the slow erosion of our national identity, sacrificed to the misguided cause of multi-culturalism.

Removing prayer from our schools, attempts to remove the Pledge of Allegiance as well. Spanish, Russian and other languages as options in telephone menus and at ATM machines.

Vento's grandparents struggled after getting off the boat from Sicily almost a century ago, and he never forgot that lesson.

Fox's 'Choice'

This past Saturday night, the Fox News Channel aired a compelling one-hour program titled "Facing Reality: Choice". 

In the program, Fox followed a trio of women as they went through their own particular "choice" process after learning that they were pregnant.

The women, their circumstances, their attitudes, and finally their choices could not have been more heterogeneous.

Kayla is a beautiful woman in her low-20's, born and raised in a practicing Christian environment by her strongly pro-life mother. As a teenager, she took the "chastity pledge" and wore a "purity ring" to acknowledge her commitment to remain a virgin until marriage.

She herself was strongly anti-drug, and like her mom, thought of herself as strongly pro-life. Then she went to college, turned into a partier, experimented with drugs, met a guy, got pregnant.

Her unmarried roommate was also pregnant, and they had frequent girl-chats about how fun it was going to be having their kids at the same time, and raising them as friends.

Big problems popped up though (imagine that) when Kayla's "partner" (read: baby's daddy) didn't want to raise a child. Suddenly Kayla was preparing to become a single mother.

With her future on the line, she was after all trying to graduate from beauty school, Kayla made the "difficult" choice to have an abortion, against everything that she had previously believed in as a theory. She even was able to enlist her mom's support in the project, and mom attended the actual abortion procedure with her.

You and Me Against the World

Many Sundays here at the old Blog are going to be, barring some major story that needs attention, our chance to present and discuss religious and/or spiritual matters. It is, after all, the Lord’s day, so the topic is most appropriate.

Though I am a practicing Roman Catholic, I try to keep myself open to any positive Judeo-Christian influences, and that is where the topics and inspiration will be drawn from.

Today will be about some of the worldly things that we who are believers find ourselves up against in the struggle to not only strengthen our own beliefs, but evangelically spread them to others.

In a recent article for the Christian Post, guest columnist and best-selling author of “The Purpose-Driven Life” pastor Rick Warren presented “Six Worldviews You’re Competing Against“.

Warren listed these: 1) The one with the most toys wins, 2) I’ve got to think of me first, 3) Do what feels good, 4) Whatever works for you, 5) God doesn’t exist, and 6) You are your own god. In his article, Warren briefly presented each view, and then presented a Biblical refutation of each.

When we consider the six worldviews above, for the vast majority of Americans the last two are already defeated.

2005 American of the Year: Bill O'Reilly

Fox News commentator, author and broadcast journalist Bill O’Reilly, has been selected as the website’s 2nd annual “American of the Year” honoree. This follows the 2004 selection of former NFL player and American serviceman Pat Tillman, who gave his life in the War on Islamofascist Terror.

The radio and television personality and pundit would be the first to say that he doesn’t belong in the company of someone like Mr. Tillman, who gave up his life for his country.

However, I would beg to differ. What Mr. O’Reilly contributes to the American public on an everyday basis is just as vital and important as those physically fighting on the frontlines overseas.

Bill O’Reilly is the lead face and voice in what is rapidly becoming a much more fair and balanced approach to news coverage and commentary on radio, cable television, and on the internet, taking back the airwaves and the newsprint from the traditional, liberal media.

His role in fighting regulary and forcefully to bring out the truth to the American public makes him the perfect honoree during a turbulent polarized time in our country.

Dhue Do That Voodoo So Well

Some of the best, most informative television is put on each night on the Fox News network. Shepard Smith does an outstanding job presenting the news, and then the real fireworks begin. 

Bill O'Reilly comes first with his "The O'Reilly Factor". He is followed by the ultra-conservative, ultra-liberal duo of Sean Hannity and Alan Colmes on "Hannity & Colmes". Finally, Greta keeps us up to date on Natalie Holloway...it's all Aruba, all the time with Greta Van Susteren. 

One young woman that I personally hope never turns up missing is the real star of the night, however. 

During the brief "Fox News Breaks" which come on both during and between each show, the updates and highlights are presented by Fox News resident brains and beauty combo Laurie Dhue. This young woman may be the single most attractive newswoman that I have ever seen on television. 

Here's to the current official "babe" of this blog, Laurie Dhue - that she will keep on doing that voodoo that she do so well on FNC for many years to come!