Author: Eric Johnson

High Court to Hear Abortion Free Speech Case
The Supreme Court will decide if Operation Rescue is the equivalent of the Gambino crime family. This story by the Associated Press is fair, but it does leave unchallenged the statement that the pro-lifers trespassed and destroyed property. If they did that, they should be prosecuted, but to treat them like the Mafia is obviously wrong. The civil rights protestors in the 1950s and ’60s could have been prosecuted under RICO, as could many of the anti-war protestors. I think our friends on the Left should think through the implications of treating civil disobedience as organized crime.
By the way, one of the authors of the RICO statute, a law professor at Notre Dame, says the law is being abused by prosecutors. “Such a weapon of terror against First Amendment freedoms was not what I designed,” he says. “Had I been told to do so, I would have refused.”

Jesuit abortion links
Mark Shea posted this link on his blog yesterday, and it literally took my breath away for a moment. The Jesuits of the University of San Francisco are actually suggesting that pregnant students should visit an abortion clinic or Planned Parenthood. There’s an obligatory link for what looks like a pro-life crisis pregnancy center, listed last (how cute).
Looking around the site, I also found a section on “Sexually Transmitted Infections.” That’s a less judgmental term than “Sexually Transmitted Diseases,” which makes it sound like someone did something wrong by contracting it; however, a virus by any other name will still make you sick.
How do we prevent STIs? “The best way to prevent STIs is to avoid sexual contact with others,” says the site. “Abstinence is the only method to guarantee that you will not contract and STI.” Good so far. But then, “If you decide to be sexually active, there are things that you can do to reduce your risk of developing an STI.”
What are those things?

• “Use clean needles if injecting intravenous drugs.”
• “Avoid having sex during menstruation.”
• The best one: “Avoid anal intercourse, but if practiced, use a male condom.”

I forget — are those from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Francis Loyola? My aging mind fails me.

Don’t they get enough from their members’ dues?
Almsgiving is in the air, and all sorts of people are probably calling your house asking for money. Here’s a letter I wrote when I found out a “charity” wasn’t a charity at all.
To whom it may concern:
Recently, I received a solicitation from the Fairfax Coalition of Police asking for a donation. The caller led me to believe that I would be giving to a charity. I said I would give $15, and your group sent me a package in the mail with the pledge request.
I was surprised to find that you are not a charity: you are a local police union affiliated with the AFL-CIO. While I think police officers are brave and honorable people – I serve with several of them in my Marine Reserve unit – I have a low regard for unions of almost any kind. In particular, the AFL-CIO gives almost all of its political donations to the Democratic Party, including the cop-bashing liberals who are disliked by every police officer I’ve ever known. More than that, your union supports candidates with whom I disagree on many other non-law-enforcement-related issues such as abortion, homosexual marriage, tax policy, and gun control. Giving money to the Fairfax Coalition of Police would mean supporting such candidates, albeit indirectly.
I don’t think you’re being honest when you ask people to help fund your “drug and alcohol education efforts” and “Christmas toys for hospitalized children,” then use the (non-tax-deductible) donations to fund your union. Consider my pledge null and void because it was contracted under false pretenses, and please do not call again.
Regards,
Eric M. Johnson

France and Germany vs. Ireland and economic reality
This should displease CL’s huge Irish readership: France and Germany are teaming together to beat up on little countries who don’t gouge corporations sufficiently. These two countries, which together are responsible for some of the deadliest ideas in human history (Bonapartism, Marxism, Nazism, croissantism), want to force European Union nations to “harmonise” their tax rates. Ireland lowered its corporate taxes over the last decade, and next year the corporate tax decreases to a puny 12.5%. The Franco-German alliance wants them to “harmonise” their butts back up to 30-40%.
Because of their smart tax policies, Ireland has gone from basket case to powerhouse. Its per capita income is now one of the highest in the world. This poverty-reduction programme has worked even better than the traditional Irish solution of exporting their poor to other countries. Yet now Europe’s dominant, stagnant nations (combined population: 142.1 million) may well force Ireland (3.8 million) to abandon its successful experiment. What’s more, the countries responsible for more war deaths than any other two nations on the planet — with the possible exception of Russia, depending on how you view WWII — are prepared to stop the citizens of Estonia (1.5 million) from imitating Ireland and lifting themselves from poverty.
Some conclusions from this sordid episode:
1. Church leaders generally smile on international agreements, judging that it’s better for nations to work with each other than to fight each other. But the contents of the agreements are morally neutral; sometimes, they can be the means for stronger nations to coerce weaker nations.
2. Entering into compacts like the European Union can lead to the loss of national sovereignty.
3. The religion of Europe’s elites is no longer Christianity: it is statism, and it has been for decades. They view the state as Christians view God, as the provider of all good things. Any challenge to the state’s supreme providential role, even when it can be proven in black-and-white statistics like poverty rates and incomes, must be beaten back.
4. To minimize poverty, one thing you should do is avoid penalizing the institutions — i.e., businesses and corporations — that facilitate the creation of wealth.

Thanks, Algore!
A disclaimer: I manage the technical aspects of the Washington Times site (www.washingtontimes.com), and I write the occasional theater review for the Times. I am not a spokesman for the newspaper, nor do my views necessarily coincide with the paper’s management.
Some say that any publicity is good publicity. That’s demonstrably untrue (Michael Jackson!), but sometimes badmouthing is good publicity. Former Vice President Al Gore (D-Nowhere), in his latest public persona of the “plain-talking honest politician,” has lashed out at the “vast right wing conspiracy.” Unlike Sen. Clinton (D-N.Y., as of 30 months ago), he names names.
Specifically, he names “Fox News Network, The Washington Times, Rush Limbaugh” as leaders of the cabal. Now, I like this because although our Web traffic might have faded in the last few days of November, we’re almost certain to have a record-breaking month. Thanks, buddy!
The ridiculousness of this idea aside, this lays bare one of the more ominous aspects of Gore’s character. He doesn’t believe his opponents are merely wrong, he thinks that because they hold incorrect ideas, they should be driven out of public life. Say what you want about Bill Clinton (D-Harlem) — Lord knows I have — but he didn’t seem to have this tendency.
Here’s what I got from what Gore said:
1. Conservative ideas have no place in American society.
2. Conservative ideas should not even be discussed.
3. The one-third of the American public that identifies itself as conservative are not part of the “mainstream.”
4. The “objective” viewpoint is liberal, or at least non-conservative.
5. It’s a darn shame that conservative ideas make it into the news, when if the news media were doing their jobs, they’d keep such things out of it. Tsk, tsk, you editors and writers, for letting this dangerous stuff onto the airwaves!
Please, read Gore’s outburst, and tell me if you come to my conclusions. If this were a member of the Bush administration lamenting the flow of ideas from liberal institutions to public life, you’d bet the ACLU would be all over that guy like Bill Clinton on a Big Mac, talking about “chilling effect!” this and “intimidation!” that.
The funniest quotation: “It’s the combination of narcissism and nihilism that really defines postmodernism,” says Gore, “and that’s another interview for another time, if you’re interested in it.” In truth, “narcissism and nihilism” is a wonderful epigram to describe another -ism: Clintonism, with which Algore is inextricably entangled. It’s time to find a real job, man. It would be so much better for your soul.