Samson's Jawbone

Most of us know the name Rosa Parks. We admire her for the stand she took against racism, but most of us forget how her case became known. After she was arrested for refusing to move to the rear of the bus she called, her pastor. The young Rev. Martin Luther King came to the jail and took up her cause. The rest is history. Any student of history knows that the great causes in America even our revolution itself gained public acceptance in part because local church pastors were prominent in  the fight. The evangelist George Whitefield was a defender of our liberty. The abolitionist movement had strong connections to William Wilberforce and the preachers of the second Great Awakening gave rise to abolitionism and the end of slavery in the United States.  When I see the debate over gay marriage and individual religious liberty it gives rise to on quesiton for me. Where are the nations clerical leaders? The silence of our nations evangelical leaders  over the gay marriage...

Samson's Jawbone: Liberty Cannot Prevail Without Discrimination. : If a terrorist committed to the annihilation of Israel walked into a deli, which unbeknown to him was owned by a Rabbi, and demanded that he...

If a terrorist committed to the annihilation of Israel walked into a deli, which unbeknown to him was owned by a Rabbi, and demanded that he cater his feast at the local mosque should the Rabbi be allowed to decline? If a former Nazi concentration camp guard died and his family went to a Jewish funeral director to prepare his body, insisting the funeral service be adorned with a Nazi flags, can the  the funeral director refuse because the service is an affront to his heritage? Religious freedom, as defined in the recent debate over Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act is under assault; its supporters are accused of  bigotry and discrimination. The ability to engage in relationships and activities consistent with our values is essential to liberty. The First Amendment means more than the right to go to church without interference. Despotic regimes like China, Cuba, Nazi Germany and the former Soviet Union afford their people what they call freedom of worship , which me...

Samson's Jawbone: Hillary Spurns Historic Formula for Democratic Vic... : Recent reports that Presidential advisor Valerie Jarett leaked information about Senator Hillary Clinton's private email server to The N...

Some people are surprised at the sudden rise in poll numbers of democratic Senator Bernie Sanders. He is now a viable competitor to Secretary Clinton for the democratic Presidential nomination. The media failed to report that the recent launch of Mrs. Clinton's campaign on Roosevelt Island in New York had a disappointing turn out. The recent testimony by Sydney Blumenthal of inappropriate influence over her when she was secretary of State is one more thing that does not bode well for her. She is the gift that keeps on giving to the Republican Party. I hope she gets the nomination, because Hillary Clinton will never be President of the United States Reports that Presidential advisor Valerie Jarett leaked information about Senator Hillary Clinton's private email server to The New York Times has lead some to speculate that Obama may have conspired to sabotage Clinton's presidential campaign. Although it is clear that Obama and Clinton have at best an amicable working relati...

Samson's Jawbone: Are Unimmunized School Children A Threat to Public... : Last week the Hamilton County Indiana school district where I substitute teach banned unimmunized students from several of their schools  a...

Last week the Hamilton County Indiana school district where I substitute teach banned unimmunized students from several of their schools  and related activities. In response to the recent measles outbreaks in Indiana and other states the students are effectively quarantined, even though they had not been exposed to any illness, nor had they exposed others. While the state allows parents to decline immunization for religious or personal reasons, recent outbreaks of measles in the state and California have caused some to insist that parents who chose that options for their children should be denied access to public schools; in other words, separate them from the rest of us. Quarantine them! Quarantines are usually imposed on those who have been exposed, not on those who are at risk for exposure. In the last 50 years courts have usually ruled quarantines illegal. Banning children who are legally unvaccinated from the classroom is an unconstitutional denial of their civil liberti...