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Home Page > Blogs > News blogs > From the Right > The left wing gets the water hot with soft tyranny.

From the Right by Ed Farnan

The left wing gets the water hot with soft tyranny.

Posted on Thursday, February 24, 2011 at 02:38 PM

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Not to alarm my PETA friends out here in the west, this is theoretical only...no frogs were harmed in the making of my metaphor....that I know of.

The premise is that if a frog is placed in boiling water, it will jump out, but if it is placed in cold water that is slowly heated, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death. The story is often used as an example of humanity's inability to react to significant changes that occur gradually.

Slowly and inexorably we are being prodded down the cattle chute of soft tyranny where the government, at the behest of the president and his unelected czars, can selectively decide which laws it will obey and which laws it will ignore.

Yesterdays announcement by the Obama administration that it will not defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is just the latest temperature increase. This Clinton-era law bans federal agencies from recognizing the legal marriages of gay and lesbian couples and allows states to ignore such marriages. Attorney General Eric Holder said on Wednesday that he and the president believe parts of the law are unconstitutional.

Obama and Holder think the law passed by congress and signed by President Clinton in 1996 is unconstitutional so they will not defend it?

Add that to the selective enforcement of our immigration laws by the federal government. The aggressive prosecution of states which do try to enforce the immigration laws. Appointed czars in Washington passing edicts down by a stroke of the pen that cost industry and consumers billions of dollars. Efforts by unelected partisan regulators to decide what news we should see and hear and you realize we are being assaulted on all sides without our consent.

A federal appeals judge found that the Obama health care bill was unconstitutional, which carries with it an injunction to cease and desist. The Obama administration has ignored the judges ruling and carries on with the attitude of "judge? what judge?"

These are just a few examples of our how our nation of laws with its existing system of checks and balances, is slowly getting subjugated by legal legerdemain and outright illegal means. We are witnessing soft tyranny.

I ask my fellow Americans on the left how they would feel if President Jeb Bush decided Roe Vs. Wade was unconstitutional and decided not to defend it ? Or if President Palin decided that national interests overpowered existing law and it would be best to send oil drilling rigs into the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and off the California coastline? My bet would be a cacophony of protests that the country has never witnessed and there would be calls for the Presidents impeachment.

The frogs in the pot have sweat on their brows.

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DSpellec | Mar 07, 2011, 02:37 PM EST

You asked what I think about this, well... I think Ed Farnan are going to get along just fine because he and I seem to agree on just about everything.

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Monsoonman | Feb 27, 2011, 12:48 PM EST

The whole crux of the article was to point out the selective enforcement of the law by the obama administration. There was no homophobia or bias expressed.

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Monsoonman | Feb 25, 2011, 09:38 PM EST

Good question Jerry Lynch, one which sadly will receive no answer. Our president was a phantom during his college years. Most of what is said about his accomplishments/exploits are in the class of legend. There is very little paper trail and eyewitnesses are non existent to his school attendance. Much could probably be cleared up but our president has chosen to seal from public scrutiny, his school records. Why he keeps them sealed is up for speculation, but he is the only president to have such a shady past, purposely.

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Scrivner | Feb 25, 2011, 06:17 PM EST

"Soft Tyranny," what a fine turn of phrase! Having watched regulations tighten across various industries (always, "for your own protection.") this administration has been filled with nannies who want to rule without having to bear responsibillity for their actions.

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seanomelbourne | Feb 25, 2011, 04:55 PM EST

I'll try again last post pulled.Farnan fails to hide his homophobic fears in the above article.He also quotes a judge that claims health care reform is unconstitutional.Palin would drill in national parks and the right have tried to remove R.Vs.W. at every turn.Mr Farnan is not interested in facts.He is only interested in pushing his ultra right wing barrow.

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seanomelbourne | Feb 25, 2011, 04:18 PM EST

Farnan fails to mention that Palin would drill in national parks and the right would reverse Roe Vs. Wade Farnan only entrenches the belief that he is homophobic.One judge claims the health bill is unconstitutional and another claims it's not, but dear Ed prefers to tell half truths to push his own right wing barrow.

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JerryLynch | Feb 25, 2011, 02:00 PM EST

Could someone please help me and post a link to a credible reference site for a documented compilation of any legal activities, articles or reviews that President Obama performed or wrote while being the Editor of the "The Harvard Law Review."

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hollabackgurl | Feb 25, 2011, 12:34 PM EST

Obama has always opposed DOMA as a narrowly targeted piece of homophobic law, which it is. He made no secret of the fact. You'd score more points if you would refer to the reality rather than the rhetoric.

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hancock | Feb 25, 2011, 12:27 PM EST

I see in two years Obama Harvard did a 180 on DOMA. I don't think you should take his word on anything.

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seagreen | Feb 25, 2011, 11:47 AM EST

The real part of the editorial is another subtle psychological attack on Obama. I'm a bit suspect of heteerosexuals that are sooo concerned about same sex marriage. The same sexers Yeah, they have an issue. Next thing, Obama will be villified for not being in favor of vasectomy's for fruit flies

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hollabackgurl | Feb 25, 2011, 11:42 AM EST

Preisdent Obama is the former president of the Harvard Law Review. If he judges DOMA to be unconstitutional I'll take his word over some random blowhard on the internet.

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seagreen | Feb 25, 2011, 11:39 AM EST

Administrators, get the commercial crap of the message board

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jamieLM | Feb 25, 2011, 10:37 AM EST

Obama & Holder's actions are why this issue is going to have to be settled by the Supreme Court which, I think, is going to rule that denying legal marriages to gay and lesbian couples in the U.S. is unconstitutional. People can be against gay marriage for religious and moral reasons, but gay marriage will be legalized in all 50 states, as well it should. All Americans have certain LEGAL rights and this is one of them. Life has gone on in those states that have already legalized it. As a woman happily married to a man, my marriage is not affected by anyone else's marriage - gay or not.

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broudskins | Feb 25, 2011, 09:58 AM EST

It is true that the slow cooking of tyranny is definitely in place, but restrictions on the personal choices of consenting adults is 100% unconstitutional. The same is true for other illegal activities like polygamy, drugs, prostitution.

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colkelley | Feb 25, 2011, 09:35 AM EST

Hey "hollabackgurl" I think you missed the REAL point of this editorial which is only partly about DOMA - the fact that the Obama administration believes that they do not have to obey the Constitution or enforce the laws as they are obligated to do under the terms of the Constitution which they supposedly swore to obey. Everything detailed here is factual and extra-Constitutional, but since I am certain you have never actually READ the Constitution you would not have the foggiest notion. The Obama administration has the right to go directly to the Supreme Court and ask for a Constitutional ruling on DOMA and avoid long, drawn-out court fights. And, no, I am not racist (my sons are half-Filipino), and no, I am not homophobic (I have had gay friends for long than you have been alive) - but if you excuse Obama because he is half-Black, then look in the mirror to find the racist. If you have not actually read the Constitution then look in the mirror to find ignorance.

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