Mozilla bows to political pressure, abandons "inclusiveness"

Today I will uninstall Firefox from my machines, and will remove my longstanding Firefox endorsement from the multi-user corporate web application that I developed and manage at my place of employment.  I do so regretfully, but can not in good conscience continue to support Mozilla after the embarrassing departure of its CEO, Brendan Eich.

I understand Mozilla's position -and Eich's stated position- that he resigned voluntarily, but the reality seems to be that he was pressured to do so because of his personal beliefs, and because Mozilla did not openly and firmly support his freedom to have and exercise his political beliefs.  I am not aware that he personally espoused beliefs that were themselves illegal, or that he promoted unlawful behavior.  Rather, he exercised his First Amendment rights to support a political cause that is shared by many if not most Americans.  Whether I agree with those beliefs is irrelevant.

If Mozilla's affirmation of "inclusiveness" does not protect the rights of all its employees to hold and express their personal beliefs, or if it applies only selectively to those beliefs acceptable under some politically correct new orthodoxy, then the policy is neither "inclusive", constitutional, nor American.

Which beliefs will be unacceptable next year?  Mozilla has clearly sent the message that "inclusiveness" really does not imply a generous tolerance toward the views of others, and that all its employees can expect no better treatment that CEO Eich received.

The claims that Brendan Eich resigned voluntarily ring hollow.  I am disappointed with Mozilla, and will miss using Firefox.  But when You threw Mr. Eich overboard I went with him.

The 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery

A couple weeks after the House passed the 13 Amendment, abolishing slavery, this poem appeared in Harper's Weekly (02/18/1865)


FREE AMERICA.

A SHOUT of joy is ringing through the land,
And men long bowed and broken rise and stand,
As if uplifted by God's bared right hand—
Our country shall be free!

The great decree enfolds the final deed;
No doubtful future closes round our need;
The blessed fruit hangs ripe within the seed—
Our country now is free!

Our mighty sacrifice has wafted sweet
Prevailing incense to God's judgment-seat;
Our martyrs sitting by the angels' feet
Know their earth-home is free.

God said, “Let Freedom be,” as erst “Let Light,”
And burst a new creation on our sight,
Created in our hearts, and named aright
America the Free!

By this we pass from pain to realms of balm,
Striking our lessening tumult through with calm,
Harmonious, holy, happy, with the psalm—
Our native land is free.

O'er life's warm heights within the luminous sky,
Through death's cold vales where endless shadows lie,
Ring forth the psalm to all who live and die—
Our land—our land is free!

Almighty God! we swear by Thy high throne,
Though pain, blood, peril in our path be sown,
This glorious land we now may call our own
Shall be forever free!

Cardinal George, the HHS Mandate, and religious freedom

Cardinal George explains in under five minutes why the HHS Mandate violates the religious freedom of Catholics, and why it was intended to do so.

Stand Up for Religious Freedom!

My family and I attended this rally in Chicago's Federal Plaza, and it was inspiring and tons of fun!  Well worth the hours taken off of work to be there!




...and more pix!...

How Mayor Daley's administration contributes to the killing

Latest police slaying under investigation - chicagotribune.com

God bless and comfort the families of these murdered, heroic officers.

Mayor Daley, however, should be called to account for how his administration and policies have contributed to Chicago's ongoing orgy of murder.

• Many areas of the city need more police protection, protection the city can not financially afford. Yet millions of dollars are wasted by this corrupt political machine, dollars that are badly needed for additional police and other vital services.
  
  
• Mayor Daley has armed police guards to protect him, and even the police are not safe from murderers. Most citizens don't have such protection. Yet the mayor has been a constant enemy of the constitutional right of citizens to own handguns to protect their families and homes.
  
  
• The mayor's support for elective abortion, and his big government, tax-more spend-more policies have cultivated an anti-life atmosphere corrosive to families, hostile to hope, and conducive to violent crime.

Busting out the economy -since 1934

 

1934 Cartoon from Chicago Tribune

"What's past is prologue." -William Shakespeare

White House disables e-tip box

White House disables e-tip box - POLITICO.com

"Following a furor over how the data would be used, the White House has shut down an electronic tip box - flag@whitehouse.gov - that was set up to receive information on "fishy" claims about President Barack Obama’s health plan."

Apparently the White House received more than a small outcry of opposition to its "tip box".

When government turns ugly

Peggy Noonan: ‘You Are Terrifying Us’ - WSJ.com

To: flag@whitehouse.gov

President Obama,

I call on You to disavow and shut down the flag@whitehouse.gov program, which is so clearly intended to intimidate and stifle voices critical of Your administration.

Until You shut down this program, and for as long as pursue Your nationalized health care plan and other programs harmful to this country, You can expect energetic opposition and loud criticism from me and many others who will not be cowed into silence.

Until then, You can add my name to the Dissidents List.

Sincerely,
John Robin
(address and phone number provided)

Is the White House building an "Enemies List"?

GOP Senator: White House Encroaching on First Amendment - The Note

Yesterday, White House director of new media Macon Phillips wrote a blog posting urging readers to flag questionable claims about health care proposals.

"There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov."
-ABC News

To: The White House, flag@whitehouse.gov

Subject: Is the White House assembling an "ENEMIES LIST"?

Re: http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2009/08/gop-senator-white-house-encroaching-on-first-amendment.html

I call upon President Obama to shut down this surveillance program in which citizens are asked to report directly to the White House (flag@whitehouse.gov) when they encounter private communication critical of the president's proposals and policies. Such a program, if it does not directly abridge the right to free expression, at least undermines and threatens this right, because it raises a legitimate concern that one's exercise of free speech, rightly or wrongly interpreted, may result in being counted a member of a government "enemies list", a target for harassment and retaliation.

Even if there is no intention to assemble such a list, the program reasonably can be perceived as a heavy-handed effort to stifle political opposition and intimidate those critical of the government. Is this really the image that President Obama wants to cultivate?

The president should shut down this citizen surveillance program immediately.

Sincerely,
John F. Robin
(address and phone number provided)

Independence Day: why do we celebrate?

U.S. independence from England came at a high price, as did uniting the colonies into one nation. The HBO mini-series "John Adams", based on David McCullough's biography, is a fascinating insight into the life and times of one of the key founding fathers.

We live in momentous times. It's important to be clear about what's important, and what was important to those who devoted their lives to founding our nation.

McCullough's book is excellent. So is the HBO mini-series.

John Adams mini-series

U.S. government carjacks automotive industry

GM Files for Bankruptcy Protection - WSJ.com

Monday, U.S. President Barack Obama defended government intervention in GM as the auto maker enters Chapter 11 bankruptcy, saying the actions are part of a 'viable, achievable plan that will give this iconic company a chance to rise again.'

Which article of the Constitution authorizes the government to use public funds to "rescue" a private company?

This administration -to some extent like its predecessor- has an insatiable and rapidly growing appetite for expansion of its powers without regard for constitutional limits.

The American dream of liberty, self-reliance, and freedom from undue government intrusion, is being transformed systematically to a bleak, marxist nightmare in which the entire economy -and every aspect of life- is subsumed under government control.

When will the American public wake up and begin to exert pressure on Congress to stop this headlong race to a totalitarian future?

Sonia Sotomayor’s View of Judging

Sotomayor’s View of Judging Is on the Record - NYTimes.com

"I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life." -2001

Taken out of context, this quote really is offensive. I wonder whether, heard in the context of the speech from which it came, it sounds any less offensive.

"Whether born from experience or inherent physiological or cultural differences," she said, for jurists who are women and nonwhite, "our gender and national origins may and will make a difference in our judging." -2001, speech at Berkeley

Does this mean that Judge Sotomayor believes judges must do their best to exercise objectivity in interpreting the law, overcoming their personal background? Or does she mean that judges should permit their "gender and national origins" to bear on their judgment?

This month, for example, a video surfaced of Judge Sotomayor asserting in 2005 that a "court of appeals is where policy is made." She then immediately adds: "And I know - I know this is on tape, and I should never say that because we don’t make law. I know. O.K. I know. I’m not promoting it. I’m not advocating it. I’m - you know." -2005

Do we know? Does she really believe, four years after this speech, that the Constitution establishes courts to be "where policy is made"? Judge Sotomayor seems embarrassed to be caught on tape making this statement, and quickly claims she's not "promoting" or "advocating" this view. But she doesn't reject or denounce the view. She's just, -you know...

Bearing arms in Chicago

Townhall.com Blog

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
-U.S. Constitution, Second Amendment.


"WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Friday overturned the District of Columbia's longstanding handgun ban, issuing a decision that will allow the city's citizens to have working firearms in their homes. In the ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected city officials' arguments that the Second Amendment right to bear arms only applied to state militias."
-FoxNews, 9 March 2007