[Commentary] Let moronic flag burners have their say

Protestors who equated the American flag with the Confederate standard only made themselves look ridiculous. (Advance file photo)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Well, the flag burners have had their moment of free speech.

Now allow us to have ours.

Equating the American flag with the Confederate flag is moronic.

Burning the American flag to protest racism and police brutality is idiotic.

A group calling itself Disarm NYPD held a flag-burning protest in Brooklyn's Fort Greene Park on Wednesday night.

Bravo for them. They have a First Amendment right to free speech, including the burning of any flag they like. Even in the days leading up to the Fourth of July. I'll defend that right to the death.

Thankfully for them, the Constitutional protection extends to instances of ridiculous free speech as well. Supporting the group's First Amendment right doesn't mean we have to agree with it, after all.

The group burned a Confederate flag as well as Old Glory.

The Confederate flag has been in the news quite a bit these last two weeks, following the shooting massacre that took the lives of nine people at a black church in Charleston, South Carolina.

Anger and grief over the massacre morphed into a debate over the Confederate flag, which had flown on the grounds of the South Carolina statehouse.

The flag is seen by many as a symbol of racism. Others say it represents Southern heritage and culture.

It's impossible to cleanse the flag of its association with slavery and secession and treason. But wherever you stand on the issue, the Confederate flag is not the same as the American flag to which we pledge allegiance.

That flag is a symbol of national unity. Never more so than when we celebrate our independence from tyranny. It's the flag that our soldiers have marched under for more than 200 years while helping secure freedom for people around the world.

Our allies in Europe were mighty glad to see that flag coming down the road after the carnage of two world wars, for instance.

And it was that flag that we mourned around, and rallied around, in the days and weeks following the 9/11 attacks, as we buried our dead and looked to bring the terrorists responsible to justice.

How can we forget those days, when the whole world was on our side? When we as Americans were all on one side, when we really did see that there is so much that unites us, despite our differences?

Via: silive

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[COMMENTARY] Ben Carson Gains As Non-establishment Candidate

Former pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson continues to rise in the polls, despite having never held political office, and political commentator Byron York says that part of the reason is because he is a very appealing candidate. 

Carson is in fourth place in the Real Clear Politics average of polls with support from 9.4 percent of Republican voters, and that number has slowly risen since he first announced his candidacy in early May, when he was at 4.8 percent. 

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In addition, the former neurosurgeon won the straw poll at the Western Conservative Summit in Denver over the weekend, the Washington Examiner reported. 

York, who writes for the Washington Examiner, gives five reasons why Carson is so popular among conservative audiences: First, "Carson is really appealing." 

He appears to stand apart from the categories that other candidates fit in, whether it's old vs. new, governor vs. senator, populist vs. establishment, and the like. 

Second, as a candidate who has never held office before, "he speaks to the throw-'em-out strain among conservatives." 

Carson told the conservative group in Denver that "the professional pundits say, 'You can't do it because you're not a politician.' I would say I can do it because I'm not a politician."

York says that this appeals to conservatives who are fed up with politicians, even Republican politicians. 

Third, there are a group of Republicans who like Carson's "it's-really-very-simple commonsense approach to complex issues." 

A fourth reason for his appeal is partly because he is the only black candidate running for the Republican nomination, and "he might appeal to that part of the Republican mind that has been scarred by years of accusations of racism." 

Lastly, "Carson projects a serenity and faith" that is also attractive to some. 

Whatever the reason, York says that "Carson's rise and unorthodox campaign style ... has left some of his rivals baffled." 

Via: Newsmax

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[COMMENTARY] Tax pledge numbers don't lie

Liberals and RINOs (Republicans in Name Only) hate the Taxpayer Protection Pledge with, as Diane Chambers once put it on Cheers, “the white hot intensity of a thousand suns.” And there’s a very good reason for that …

It works.

In signing the Tax Pledge, a candidate promises the voters of his or her district that he or she will “oppose and vote against any and all efforts to increase taxes.”

And the reason for fiscal conservatives to oppose any and all efforts to increase taxes isn’t to oppose tax hikes for the sake of opposing tax hikes. It’s to deny government additional funding to grow bigger.

Indeed, if your political philosophy is that of a limited government fiscal conservative, the best strategy for achieving that objective is to “starve the beast.” It’s just that simple.

And the simple fact is those who sign the Pledge vote against tax and fee (taxes by another name) hikes FAR more often than those who don’t. Rare is the case of an elected official -- such as Republican Assembly Speaker John Hambrick -- who completely disavows their promise to their voters and goes over to the “dark side.”

Citizen Outreach CEO Dan Burdish recently completed a study of the tax-hike votes by members of the Nevada State Assembly for the 2015 legislative session. He identified 32 recorded votes on bills that increased taxes or fees.

And Hambrick voted for every last one of them.

As did Republican Assembly Majority Leader Paul Anderson and defrocked former Assembly Minority Leader Pat Hickey.

Forget the Three Amigos. These are the Three RINOs.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, three Republican Pledge signers had perfect no-new-taxes voting records: Assemblywoman Michele Fiore, Assemblyman John Moore and Assemblywoman Shelly Shelton. The other six Pledge signers only rarely voted for a tax or fee hike, ranging from 2 transgressions to 9.

But not one of them voted for Gov. Brian Sandoval’s largest tax hike in Nevada history.

On the other hand, a number of self-described “conservative” Republicans who refused to sign the Tax Pledge literally voted like Democrats.

The best of the worst was Assemblyman David Gardner, who voted in favor of 22 of the 32 tax hikes. Assemblyman Chris Edwards voted for 26 tax hikes. Assemblyman Erv Nelson voted for 27 of them. Taxation Committee Chairman Derek Armstrong and Assemblyman James Oscarson voted for higher taxes 29 out of 32 times.

And Carson City Assemblyman P.K. O’Neill, who replaced Tax Pledge signer Pete Livermore this session, voted for 30 of the 32 tax hikes.

The numbers don’t lie and the lesson is clear: If you don’t want your taxes to go up so the government blob can grow bigger, only vote for candidates who have signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge.

Via: Elko Daily

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