Syria's Christians Under Sharia Law 

Radical Islamists seized control of the Syrian city of Raqqa last year. Now they are forcing Christians in the area to submit to a dhimma -- a feature of Sharia law that makes them second-class citizens. 

According to the terms imposed on Raqqa's Christians by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS): Christians in Raqqa must pay a tax of roughly $1,000 per person. Poor Christians will be required to pay $250. They can practice their faith in private. But, they cannot pray in public. They cannot build new churches. They cannot rebuild destroyed churches. And they cannot ring church bells. They cannot carry weapons, and they must report any threats against the Muslim establishment.

Many Christians in Raqqa signed the agreement on threat of death if they did not. Of course, Christians who do not wish to be taxed and forced to live under such conditions can always convert to Islam. Those who refused were warned that "nothing will remain between them and ISIS other than the sword." 

There was nothing but silence from the power centers in Washington, D.C., namely the State Department and the White House, to this gross violation of human rights and religious liberty. I guess no one perceived a "gay" angle that could be exploited.

I had no expectations that the "progressives" and leftists would care about some suffering Christians. But how about U.S. churches? How many pastors will inform their congregations of what is happening to their brothers and sisters in Christ? 

Lerner Pleads The Fifth -- Again 

Lois Lerner, the former official at the center of the IRS abuse scandal, was once again on Capitol Hill before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. And once again Ms. Lerner refused to answer any questions about her role in that scandal.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), chairman of the committee, asked Lerner a series of questions, and every time she invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. As a result, it was a very short hearing, which Chairman Issa quickly ended due to Lerner's unwillingness to cooperate. 

Lerner's attorney, no doubt attempting to generate sympathy for his client, let it be known that she has received death threats. My heart goes out to her. But I know for a fact that for virtually every leader in the conservative movement, especially those who fight for moral values, death threats are business as usual.

I am not going to shed crocodile tears for someone who conspired to abuse the power of the IRS against conservative groups and individuals. If the facts are confirmed, she belongs in jail. 

Snowden And Ukraine 

Remember Edward Snowden? He's the guy who stole the crown jewels of American intelligence in the worst act of espionage ever committed. Many on the left are big supporters of Snowden. Sadly, some on the right think he is a hero, too. I disagree. Heroes do not steal our military secrets and run off to China and Russia. 

As Rep. Howard McKeon, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, recently said, "Edward Snowden isn't a whistle-blower; he isn't a hero. He's a traitor and a criminal." 

Rep. McKeon added that Americans would be "shocked and outraged" if they had any idea just how much information Snowden stole that related to our national defense and not just the NSA's domestic surveillance efforts. "Damage to the military is not the mark of a whistle-blower," McKeon said.

Think about this: Did the information Snowden stole have any role in Russia's invasion of Ukraine? We have to assume that Putin has seen everything Snowden stole. No doubt that is one reason why Putin granted him asylum.

It is common for our intelligence agencies to prepare for various foreign policy scenarios. What if any of those scenarios involved Russian aggression in former Soviet states, and concluded that the U.S. was powerless to act? I wouldn't be surprised if Putin has such information.

Moral Clarity On Iran 

Yesterday, a world leader spoke the truth about the Islamic Republic of Iran. It was a powerful speech freedom-loving people everywhere should hear. I want to share this excerpt with you: 
 

"Iran says it only wants a peaceful nuclear program. So why is it building a heavy water reactor, which has no purpose in a peaceful nuclear program? Iran says it has noting to hide. So why does it ban inspectors from its secret military sites? … So why does it continue to build ICBMs, intercontinental ballistic missiles, whose only purpose is to carry nuclear warheads? … And they can strike, right now or very soon, the Eastern seaboard of the United States -- Washington -- and very soon after that, everywhere else in the United States, up to L.A. …

"It's not only that Iran doesn't walk the walk. In the last few weeks, they don't even bother to talk the talk. Iran's leaders say they won't dismantle a single centrifuge, they won't discuss their ballistic missile program. And guess what tune they're singing in Tehran? It's not 'God Bless America,' it's 'death to America.' And they chant this as brazenly as ever. Some charm offensive.

"And here's my point. Iran continues to stand unabashedly on the wrong side of the moral divide. And that's why we must continue to stand unequivocally on the right side of that divide. We must oppose Iran and stand up for what is right."

Unfortunately, the leader who delivered that speech wasn't President Barack Obama, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.