Obama Defends Kaepernick
Speaking in China yesterday, President Obama defended San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. The president said:
"My understanding at least is he's exercising his constitutional right to make a statement. . . I think there are a lot of ways you can do it. As a general matter, when it comes to the flag and the National Anthem and the meaning that that holds for our men and women in uniform and those who fought for us, that is a tough thing for them to get past to then hear what his deeper concerns are. But I don't doubt his sincerity based on what I've heard."
Where to begin?
First of all, why does the president appear to assume that only those in uniform object to Kaepernick's contempt for our flag and the National Anthem? Millions of patriotic Americans, whether they served or not, understand that his behavior is disrespectful.
Secondly, it's not only Kaepernick's disrespect for the flag and the National Anthem, but his disdain for police officers that has offended so many people. He wore socks that depicted police as pigs!
While I can certainly appreciate the value of the president applauding free speech while in China, he utterly failed to make that connection. There was no attempt by Obama to applaud America's greatness as a free society that tolerates dissent. There was no attempt to urge China to respect basic human rights like freedom of speech and religious liberty. Nothing.
In short, if the president wanted to say something positive about Kaepernick, he missed a great opportunity to say something positive about the country he leads, and in the process offer hope to the masses of oppressed Chinese.
Iran Ups The Ante
We recently reported that Iranian boats harassed two U.S. ships and ignored repeated warnings to back off. One American ship was forced to fire warning shots after Iranian vessels came within 200 yards of it.
Well, Tehran is clearly feeling emboldened. Pentagon officials report that another "incident" occurred over the holiday weekend. This time seven Iranian boats approached the USS Firebolt, ignored all communications and closed to within 100 yards -- before the Firebolt changed course.
Pentagon officials also conceded that "there have been 31 similar interactions with Iranian ships this year, almost double the amount [sic] from the same period last year."
Why wouldn't Iran try to flex its muscles? Any time it threatens our ships, nothing happens.
It seizes our sailors and Secretary of State John Kerry thanks them.
Iran seizes hostages and Obama pays the mullahs a huge ransom.
Iran violates the nuclear deal and Obama's grants it "secret exemptions."
ISIS Urges New Attacks
ISIS has made headlines in the past for urging attacks on policemen and soldiers. But a new propaganda piece tells jihadis to attack infidels anywhere, including "businessmen on their way to work, young people playing sports in the park and even 'the street vendor selling flowers to those passing by.'"
According to one report, ISIS quotes "references from the Koran and early Islamic scholars that the war against the non-believer is not limited to the 'enemy' fighting 'frontline operations.' Rather 'he has also ordered that they be slain wherever they may be -- on or off the battlefield.'"
Muslims living in the West are told, "the blood of the disbelievers is halal (permissible) and killing them is a form of worship to Allah. . ."
Apparently the Islamic State still hasn't gotten the memo that their murderous attacks have nothing to do with Islam.
Goodbye, Phyllis
Phyllis Schlafly, a dear friend of many years, passed away yesterday. It is always a risk to say someone is irreplaceable. But it is hard to imagine what the Republican Party would look like, and, more importantly, what America would look like without Phyllis Schlafly.
Phyllis burst onto the scene in 1964 with her book entitled, "A Choice, Not An Echo." She wrote it to promote Barry Goldwater and, as the title implies, to ensure that voters had a real choice between the parties, not just an echo of the establishment elites. She would go on to write more than two dozen books and she became a champion of American conservatism.
Phyllis fought every four years to ensure that the Republican Party platform remained pro-life. I was honored to stand with her on many of those occasions. She led the successful campaign to defeat the Equal Rights Amendment and warned that the feminist movement would lead to all kinds of unintended consequences.
She was labeled an extremist by the media for warning that those consequences would include the blending of genders and the undermining of marriage. Recent headlines have only proven that Phyllis Schlafly was right all along.
Feminist leaders of her day like Betty Freidan and Gloria Steinem were treated by the media as if they were great celebrities, precisely because they mocked motherhood and marriage, and supported abortion on demand. Conversely, Phyllis Schlafly spoke for millions of American women when she defended marriage and motherhood as good and honorable institutions. And she was vilified for it.
Phyllis had the courage of her convictions. She stood up against the left. She fought the good fight, and she won time and time again. She was called the "Godmother of the conservative movement" and the "First Lady of American Conservatism." Ronald Reagan lauded her leadership as "an example to all those who would struggle for an America that is prosperous and free." All so true.
We already miss her, but I am sure Phyllis has already heard those glorious words, "Well done, good and faithful servant."