John Edwards, Roger Clemens, and Federal Witch Hunts

Here's another example of why I don't trust my government, and why I want it to do less.

The prosecutions of John Edwards and Roger Clemens were a disgrace.

They wasted our tax dollars.

They cost years of life and hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees for these men.

The "not guilty" verdicts of both men was the only redeeming aspect their trials.

They should never have been prosecuted in the first place. The "laws" under which they were prosecuted had no moral or constitutional legitimacy.

Consider the Edwards case: Campaign finance regulations are an assault on freedom of conscience and the First Amendment. If I support a candidate, I have the human right to support him any way I want, directly or indirectly. My free press rights allow me to express myself, even if (especially if) it's about elections!

(In fact, campaign laws make it HARDER for the "little guy" to organize, whereas the wealthy can afford to pay lawyers and accountants to jump through regulatory hoops.)

The Clemens case was equally disgraceful. Is it okay to lie to someone who asks you about something that's none of their business? I think it is.

Drug prohibition, including steroid prohibition, is not authorized by any provision in the Constitution, and it violates the Ninth and Tenth Amendments. Congressional hearings on steroids in baseball was a grandstanding, affront to the rule of law and called into question who should've gone on trial. (Hint: They probably have Chairman in front of their name.)

Moreover, Edwards and Clemens _had no victims_. They neither initiated violence nor engaged in theft. Therefore, their alleged actions weren't crimes.

I hope that Congress and the Justice Department's witch hunters - oops, District Attorneys - learn valuable lessons from these disgraces.

For the Edwards and Clemens juries sent a powerful message: agree or disagree with their ethics and actions, but these men do not belong in prison.

Regrettably, it may have been only due to their fame and pricey legal teams that Edwards and Clemens got off. Poor defendants often don't have a chance against overzealous prosecutors.

That's why you must repeal all federal victimless crime laws and end silly crusades such as "campaign finance reform" and the War on Drugs. I agree with DownSizeDC.org on this issue and the post.

Unions That Divide: Churches Split Over Gay Marriage

At a black Pentecostal church in Raleigh, N.C., the Rev. Patrick Wooden entered the sanctuary on Sunday to a standing ovation, exulting that God’s “high hand” had led voters last week to pass a statewide amendment banning same-sex marriage. He took to the pulpit and denounced President Obama for taking a stand “in support of sin,” and “in opposition to the biblical model of marriage.”

Same-sex marriage became a reality in the United States in 2004 in the wake of a ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Court that it was required under the equal protection clause of the commonwealth' Constitution. Prior to 2012, same-sex marriage was also legalized in New York, Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont and Washington, D.C. Early in 2012, Washington State and Maryland both approved same-sex marriage laws, but neither took effect immediately and both were expected to be challenged in referendums.

In early May, North Carolina voted in large numbers for a constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriages, partnerships and civil unions, becoming the 30th state in the country and the last in the South to include a prohibition on gay marriage in the state constitution. A thousand miles away, at a predominantly white, Lutheran church in Madison, Wis., where a rainbow banner greets churchgoers arriving for services, the Rev. Susan Schneider preached that gay men and lesbians were included when Jesus commanded his followers to love one another: “Knocking down the walls is what Jesus was after.”

Mr. Obama’s declaration last week that he supports same-sex marriage prompted ministers around the country to take to their pulpits on Sunday and preach on the issue. But in the clash over homosexuality, the battle lines do not simply pit ministers against secular advocates for gay rights. Religion is on both sides in this conflict. The battle is actually church versus church, minister versus minister, and Scripture versus Scripture.

The dividing lines are often unpredictable. There are black churches that welcome openly gay couples, and white churches that do not. Some Presbyterian churches hire openly gay clergy members, while others will not. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that homosexual behavior is a sin, but there are Catholic priests who secretly bless gay unions.

And leaders in the United Methodist Church have been debating whether to ordain openly gay ministers for four decades, and voted again just this month to uphold their prohibition. But there are Methodist ministers who perform same-sex marriages in defiance of church rules who share the denomination with ministers who preach that America is going the way of Sodom and Gomorrah because of homosexuality.

More at the New York Times

If marriage loses, we all lose

The indispensible social pillar of marriage is being undermined and marginalized in our national discourse. I am concerned that some conservative leaders are backing down in their defense of marriage while making overt concessions to the pro-homosexual community.

Tragically, we are seeing a trend within conservative ranks de-emphasizing the importance of defending marriage from the attacks of pro-homosexual activists. And pro-marriage initiatives appear to be declining at the very time they are most desperately needed!

Some conservative leaders are either avoiding the issue or are actively diminishing the role of the marriage issue in 2012’s campaigns. There are even suggestions that natural marriage may not get much support at all in 2012’s conservative party platforms.

This retreat is totally unacceptable! If marriage loses, we all lose!

The Honorable Ken Blackwell, a Visiting Professor of Law at Liberty University School of Law and highly respected political commentator, recently said it this way:

“Marriage is the union of one man and one woman. The fundamental institution of human civilization should be preserved as it has been known through the entirety of American history and Western civilization.”

Respected conservative columnist Don Feder also weighed into this controversy:

“Surrender on gay marriage is surrender on marriage – which is surrender on the family and, ultimately, surrender on civilization. Unfortunately, many conservative intellectuals have lost sight of a crucial fact: American exceptionalism rests on three pillars – faith, family, and freedom. Remove any one, and the entire structure collapses.”

If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? The fact is, you and I and other enlightened pro-family citizens are going to have to be the ones who come forward to defend natural marriage in America!

I urge you to take a moment to sign our Statement of Support upholding the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

We are calling on all of our friends and supporters to insist that President Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice (DOJ), congressional leaders, and military leaders actively comply with and defend the Defense of Marriage Act! This duly-passed act of the United States Congress is the law of the land and will remain so until that status is changed due to a holding by the U.S. Supreme Court!

Click here to sign Statement of Support upholding the federal Defense of Marriage Act: http://www.lcaction.cc/656/petition.asp

As you know, we are also incensed that activist judges have ruled in favor of same-sex “marriage” at the expense of society’s greater good in several states where the clear majority of voters support marriage as being a union between one man and one woman.

This proposed law must also be defeated.

Liberty Counsel Action is on the front lines of marriage’s defense.

This battle for traditional marriage and family has enormous national significance and a split in conservative opinion on marriage only encourages the homosexual community’s quest for full national recognition of same-sex “marriage.”

Kentucky's alleged equality organizations failing

Since I was been absent things have gotten better, witness the awesome power of the Family Foundation of Kentucky:

The future of instant racing gambling in Kentucky is back in the hands of a trial judge who the Kentucky Court of Appeals on Friday ordered to further develop the issues surrounding the slot-like game.

The 2-1 decision doesn't expressly prohibit instant racing at Kentucky Downs in Franklin near the Kentucky-Tennessee state line and Ellis Park in Henderson. Instead, the court sent the case back to Franklin Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate with instructions to allow the Family Foundation of Kentucky and the state to explore several issues surrounding the game, in which patrons bet on historic races without knowing the names of the trainers, jockeys or horses involved.

In December 2010, Wingate upheld a proposal allowing tracks to accept pari-mutuel bets on rebroadcasts of the old races. The Family Foundation intervened in a lawsuit seeking to clarify the issue.

By not allowing the state and the Family Foundation of Kentucky to exchange evidence and flesh out the issues, it is impossible to tell what the trial judge relied on to justify upholding instant racing, Senior Judge Joseph E. Lambert wrote for the appeals court.

Martin Cothran, a senior policy analyst for the Lexington-based Family Foundation of Kentucky, said the ruling levels the playing field in the litigation.

"With an issue as ripe for corruption as expanded gambling, the public has a right to question, know and understand the underlying facts relating to the gambling activity and the special interests involved," Cothran said.

Social clubs like the faux and defunct Kentucky Fairness Alliance pose no threat to family values in Kentucky. Other social groups, Lexington Fairness and the Gay and Lesbian Services Organization or GLSO are also without power or merit, just a bunch of homosexuals getting together to get drunk? Cocktail anyone?

Louisville Fairness Campaign has proven how useless they are with the Berea ordinance. Chris Hartman the director of Louisville Fairness Campaign publicly promised a Madison County Human Rights Commission.  They created it and omitted the gay agenda, a major slap in the face to Hartman's credibility.

Hartman also proved that he himself is a bully, covered by major news outlets:

The leading supporter of the so-called “Bullying Bill” became verbally and physically abusive in a Capitol Annex hallway with an opponent of the bill after the bill went down to defeat in a House committee, attracting the attention of State Police and other observers. The Family Foundation called on the Fairness Campaign to issue a public apology for the behavior of its director, Chris Hartman. “If you are really opposed to bullying, the last thing you probably want to do is engage in it in plain sight after a meeting in which a bill prohibiting it was just discussed,” said Family Foundation spokesman Martin Cothran. Hartman obstructed the path of Andrew Walker, who had lobbied the committee against the bill, harassing him as he was leaving the restroom after the meeting and began interrogating him in an intimidating way. Several minutes later, Hartman cornered Walker again and began verbally bullying him with charges of being opposed to student safety.

According to Louisville’s Courier Journal, Hartman “became verbally and physically abusive toward Andrew Walker, a policy analyst for The Family Foundation of Kentucky, who had lobbied against the bill.” As a result, The Family Foundation of Kentucky has called on the Fairness Campaign to issue a public apology for the behavior of Hartman.

Personally I think criminal charges should have been filed but the Louisville Fairness Campaign still has some political strength.

Kentucky Equality Federation's former president, Jordan Palmer successfully lobbied the feds to prosecute the first so-called gay hate crime in the United States. So what? They also forced the city of Hazard to make changes and got a true Christian suspended from his job just because he didn't want homosexuals kissing in his pool.

With Palmer no longer in the drivers seat, the future political power of Kentucky Equality Federation is in question. With Palmer and his political connections gone Kentucky Equality Federation will collapse on itself.  Palmer stepped down for health reasons, he probably has AIDS knowing how easy the gays have sex.

Joshua Koch the Kentucky Equality Federation's new president condoned the illegal removal of a freedom of speech billboard which told God fearing people the truth: "Abortion is Murder and Homosexuality is a Sin!" Just how hard do you think the Lexington Police Department is going to investigate the removal of that billboard with a gay mayor?

Be warned, David Adams may be busy but I am back!