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Arrogant Americans, Mr. President?

April 14, 2009
Peter Heck

As I was sitting in church waiting for the start of the service, my grandpa came walking towards me pointing his finger. No matter how old I get, and no matter how long he’s been out of the U.S. Navy, that’s still an intimidating sight. As he approached me, his voice quivered as he said, “We saved that continent twice...how dare my president apologize for this country’s arrogance.” My grandpa is right. Americans need not apologize to the world for their arrogance; rather, Americans should apologize to their forefathers for the arrogance of their president.

Barack Obama’s first foreign trip as President of the United States has confirmed the naiveté so many of us feared during the election cycle. But worse than that, it has also demonstrated that our president suffers from either a complete misunderstanding of our heritage and history, or an utter contempt for it. Neither is excusable.

Garnering cheers from the French of all people, President Obama declared, “In America, there is a failure to appreciate Europe’s leading role in the world. Instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive.” Consider that Obama spoke these words just 500 miles from the beaches of Normandy, where the sand is still stained with 65-year-old blood of “arrogant Americans.”

Indeed, columnist Mark Whittington observes, “One should remind Mr. Obama and the Europeans how America has ‘shown arrogance’ by saving Europe from itself innumerable times in the 20th Century. World War I, World War II, the Cold War, and the wars in the Balkans were largely resolved by American blood, treasure, and leadership.” But all that appears lost on the president’s seemingly insatiable quest to mend fences he imagines have been tarnished by the bullish George W. Bush.

If Obama wishes to continue trampling the presidential tradition of showing class to former office holders and publicly trash Bush for his own personal gain, so be it. But all Americans should make clear that no man – even if he is the president – will tarnish the legacy of those Americans who have gone before us. Ours is not a history of arrogance. It is a history of courage, self-sacrifice, and honor.

When abusive monarchs repressed the masses, Americans resisted and overthrew them. When misguided policies led to the unjust oppression of fellow citizens, Americans rebelled and overturned them. When millions of impoverished and destitute wretches sought a new beginning, Americans threw open the door and welcomed them. When imperial dictators were on the march, Americans surrendered their lives to stop them. When communist thugs threatened world peace, Americans bled to defeat them. When an entire continent was overwhelmed with famine and hunger, Americans gave of themselves to sustain it. When terrorist madmen killed the innocent and subjugated millions, Americans led the fight to topple them.

This is the legacy that generations of Americans have left. If President Obama seeks stronger relations with the world community, perhaps he should begin by reminding them of these very truths, rather than condemning his own countrymen on foreign shores.

This “obsessive need to put down his own country,” has caused blogger James Lewis to call President Obama a “stunningly ignorant man” who has evidently never spoken to a concentration camp survivor, a Cuban refugee, a boat person from Vietnam, a Soviet dissident, or a survivor of Mao’s purges.

Unfortunately, I can no longer bring myself to give Mr. Obama that benefit of the doubt. Not after looking at the pain in my grandpa’s eyes...a man who still carries shrapnel in his body from his service to this country.

As a student and teacher of history, I recognize that America has made mistakes...plenty of them, in fact. But one of the great things about our people has been their courage and humility in admitting and correcting those mistakes. God willing, they will prove that willingness again in four years and correct the mistake that is the presidency of Barack Obama.

Peter Heck (peter@peterheck.com) hosts a two-hour, daily call-in radio program on WIOU (1350 AM) in Kokomo, Indiana. “The Peter Heck Show” comments on social and political issues — and doesn’t shy away from recognizing how faith influences politics.

http://peterheck.com/columns/2009_articles

Delmarva Residents Join The Nation For A "Tea Party"
By MICHELLE HINKLE
(DELMARVA -- WMDT) 4/15/2009

Photographer: Chris Elliott

Two hundred thirty five years after Boston, Americans across the nation are having another tea party. More than 2,000 cities are rallying on tax day including one right here on Delmarva in Georgetown. All of the protesters are spreading the same message, they've been "taxed enough already".

"We're having a peaceful protest against excessive taxation and asking our elected representatives to spend our money more responsibly," said Donna Gordan, one of the event's planners.

"They're putting our grandkids and great-grandkids into debt just through the spending, the needless spending. That's what we're here for," said protester Eric Anderson.

Protesters say they may not be dumping tea, but their message is just as important. They say the government is spending too much and corporations shouldn't be getting bailed out. One protester says taxes will have to be raised to pay off the growing national debt.

"It's going to fall on all of us. Those of us who go to work everyday, those of us who don't ask anything from the government, and those of us who pay our taxes," said Gordan.

Protesters in Georgetown say they are ready for change, and not the kind jingling in your pocket. Protesters plan to picket every tax day until their voices are heard.

http://wmdt.com/topstory/topstory.asp?id=4430

Murtha Case Thrown Out On Appeal

April 15, 2009 by e-Patriot

The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in D.C. took another step Tuesday to immunize federal employees from lawsuits by citizens and exempt them from the basic American republican (small “r”) principle that no one is above the law. The ruling also leaves citizens without the equal protections provided by the Fourteenth Amendment. In addition, it reinforces the Orwellian concept that “all pigs are equal; some pigs are more equal than others” i.e., government officials.

The court’s decision involved a lawsuit brought by Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich against Democratic Congressman John Murtha. The suit was filed in response to a remark made by Murtha at a press conference in May 2006 accusing Wuterich and his men of killing Iraqi civilians, including women and children, “in cold blood.” A Marine Corp inquiry later found Wuterich and his men had acted properly during a firefight on Nov. 19, 2005 in Haditha, Iraq in which two Marines were killed.

The Court found that Murtha could not be sued under the 1988 Westfall Act which gives federal employees immunity from lawsuits when acting in the course of their official duties. The Court’s ruling in this case seems to be improper both on legal and constitutional grounds. Under the Westfall Act, in order for immunity to be granted, the Attorney General, or his designee must issue a “scope certification” certifying that the “defendant employee was acting within the scope of his office or employment at the time of the incident out of which the claim arose….”

Also, under the Westfall Act, the plaintiff has the right to appeal the Attorney General’s scope certification. Furthermore, the Act does not grant immunity to the defendant, it transfers liability from the defendant to the government which still allows the plaintiff to get satisfaction in court for the injury incurred. In this case, it would appear that the fact that Murtha was a member of Congress was not incidental to the case. There is no job requirement that elected officials call press conferences to give their personal opinions on current events. That is purely a personal or political decision on the part of the individual involved.

The Constitution in Article One, Section Six provides limited immunity for Senators and Congressmen under very narrow circumstances.

“They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.”

Just as Section 8 of Article I, limits the power of Congress by its specificity, Section 6 limits the legal immunity afforded members of Congress for the same reason. Under this Section, Legislators are immune from arrest only while in “attendance”. In other words, only while the Congress is in session and they would normally be in attendance. They are also immune from arrest while traveling to or from a session of Congress.

Section Six also provides that a member of Congress cannot be called to account regarding any speech or debate in either house. It is obvious that the reference here is to remarks made in the respective chambers, not in a TV studio or before a microphone at an outside press conference.

Aside from the violation of the “free republic” principle that all men are equally subject to the rule of law and equally entitled to its protections, this interpretation of the law has the potential of incrementally denying citizens any legal redress for actions committed by federal officials between election cycles, no matter how egregious. Under the present circumstances of one party rule and the obvious intent of the current administration to infringe on the liberties of citizens, this is a dangerous precedent.

http://illinoisconservative.wordpress.com/2009/04/15/murtha-case-thrown-out-on-appeal/