Illinois Review

Does capitalism encourage immorality? – Part Two

By Irene F. Starkehaus - 

A few days ago, I wrote on the subject of capitalism (Does capitalism encourage immorality – part one) in reaction to an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal by Paul Farrell entitle: Capitalism is killing our morals, our future . In a Market Society, everything is for sale. If you remember, I happened to disagree with this idea. After we took some time to contrast the horrors of socialized medicine to America's pre-Obamian world of going to the doctor without a permission slip from the magistrate, it was clear that profit motive has a place in the world and that, contrary to Mr. Farrell's esteemed opinion, the coarsening of our culture has nothing to do with billionaires who will "never voluntarily surrender their control over the American political system."

It's not capitalism that's immoral. Materialism is immoral. Of course, thanks to the Left's cunning supervision and mentoring of our shared culture and language, people have come to believe that capitalism and materialism are synonymous and that they are both synonymous with greed. Nothing could be further from the truth. But…if we don't take the time to become fluent in all aspects this debate then we will never win the hearts and minds of the American people, and we will not be able to overcome the injustices against constitutional liberty that are taking hold in this nation as we speak.

Questions for Civil Libertarians about Dzokhar Tsarnaev

By Sam Pierce - 

Society, in general, appears to be circling the drain with ever increasing velocity. Given the state of society and the apparently overt attempts to expedite its collapse, this seems an appropriate time to question those bastions of freedom and superior intellect, the civil libertarians. Perhaps understanding the motivations of those who swing sledgehammers at the societal moorings will enable us to discover new ways to preserve it. At the very least, we may enjoy an epiphany and realize why the civil libertarian ideology should take priority over the preservation of society.

The succeeding questions are not presented in any meaningful order. I do hope civil libertarians will enlighten us (and by enlighten, I don't mean spewing legal interpretation or precedent).

Homosexual Is Not the New Black and DOMA Is Appropriate

By Sam Pierce - 

(Note: The intended title of this post was "Homosexual Is Not the New Black and DOMA Is Not Constitutionally Appropriate," but then I thought I should check into DOMA to be sure. I misunderstood DOMA. I believed the hype and misdirection that seems to be part of the media's proper role in the anti-society agenda. My assumption was that the federal government has no business in marriage, but that is not, despite what the liberals and disingenuous Libertarians would have you believe, what DOMA is about! The text of the bill as passed by the House and Senate will be included later in the post.)

Imagine, if you will:

The lost continent, sometimes known as Atlantis, was more commonly called Homosexia by the intelligentsia of the time. Before it sank into the depths, never to be rediscovered, it was the native land of the race known as Homosexuals. No one knows with any certitude, how Homosexuals came to populate the land, as they did not engage in sexual reproduction. This one amazing attribute of the race differentiates it from every other race in the hisory of mankind. Some postulate that the progenation of the race had something to do with a series of big bangs, but again those theories don't pass scientific tests. We may never know how a race came to be or how it continues without the benefit of sexual reproduction.

Did stomping on the name of "Jesus" really hurt anyone?

By Cranky Housewife - 

The Left has coached the American citizenry on the subject of compassion with a tedium that lives at the heart and soul of the social sciences. But contrary to popular opinion, this effort really never has been about cultural diversity. It's about achieving cultural suppression under the guise of policing diversity. From the Left's perspective, the best way to move their cultural agenda forward is by making everything that is and has been philosophically, politically and economically successful seem either trivial or evil. This is achieved best by convoluting honest debate with the most specious arguments available and by viewing any attempt at compromise as a cultural surrender and a signal to advance their agenda forward.

Is there anything more emotionally exhausting than honestly attempting to reason with jesters who argue foolishness as a way of wearing you down? For goodness sake. It's like debating with Roger Rabbit, although to be fair, at least Roger Rabbit genuinely meant no harm. More exhausting than debating farce is the realization that the foolishness is nothing more than a tactic for fatiguing and breaking down one's opponent and when you recognize this you can finally accept that you are, in fact, the opponent. That's all you are and that's all you are ever going to be.

The Plight of Feminists…All Things Being Equal

By Cranky Housewife - 

It is a terrible thing to want a child and not be able to have one. Such is this sort of tender sorrow of womanhood that it transcends modernity by tracing and weaving itself through human history. It appears in the stories of royalty as well as peasants, saints as well as sinners. It's the stuff of fairytales and bible tales. Infertility knows no boundaries of class, race, nationality or religion.

It's not so much the story of infertility, only the solutions to the problem of sterility that are new and intricate, and those solutions often bring fresh and complex crises of conscience that must be addressed and resolved if we are to maintain any standards of morality in this nation.

How many times have we all heard this one? Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. I know on the surface, we all understand the wisdom of this cloying truism. Yet this is a debate point that seems frequently lost on a good many women in their quest for offspring, their prevention of offspring and the convenience of offspring in general.

The myth of shared sacrifice

By The Cranky Housewife -

I do understand your doubt while you stare out the window upon that wind torn, subarctic prairie scene which unfolds around you. It may not feel like it will ever be warm again, but spring is most certainly about to be sprung. I'm certain of it. The groundhog was quite specific on this point and he has never steered us wrong before.

I can almost see the crocuses…crocuses? Crocusi?...bursting from their winter slumber as nature thrums with the warmth and beauty of a world reborn. A glorious time of the year to be sure, we look forward to the reawakening of nature while we roll along to that most glorious season of Earth Month; we prepare ourselves for the promise of governmental overreach as we partake in the sacrament of Tax Day; we ready ourselves for a few thousand Working People's protests…you know that winter is over when the first OWS protester returns to his urine stained tent.

Dr. Carson: Someone must stand up to the bullies

By The Cranky Housewife -

Let me start with a story. An interesting conversation was recently had between one of my friends and his doctor. You see, the hospital through which his doctor practices has this neat service that's being offered for its patients – sign up and receive a special code in the mail and with that code, the patient is able to access clinic-like doctor services online.

And my friend got to thinking… wow! What a great idea, huge time saver, really innovative. He would never again have to sit in a room full of hacking flu sufferers in order to get approval for refills on his basic maintenance medications. Very excited about this whole prospect of online health care and the future of medicine in our golden age of technology, my friend decided to apply for the service for himself and for his family.

So he signed himself up. He signed his children up. He was told that his wife would need to apply for the code on her own and so that was that. In a few days, he received a schlew of letters in the mail…seemingly with the magic codes that would unlock the medical Shangri-La of which had been prophesied.

No tangible accommodations in the new HHS proposals

By Cranky Housewife -

You know the problem with Obamacare, don't you? I mean aside from the clear infringement on personal freedom, the obvious financial devastation that it will create, and the looming health care rationing that the Left swears will never happen?

The problem is? I'm telling you, every time some new requirement or hidden fee or unrecognized consequence of the HHS mandates comes to light, I feel as if I'm walking through a Dynasty episode or something…

I know, I know – Dynasty hasn't been part of any real pop-culture taxonomy since around the early 90s. That's okay. Given the current status of our Sebelian/Orwellian HHS melodrama, I think the outdated reference works just fine. If someone would be courteous enough to cue the ominous music when Sebelius takes to the podium, I think we would all be more than grateful. Because, I can't help it. When I start ruminating over this whole health care fiasco and running through the never ending, soap opera drama in my mind, the part of Kathleen Sebelius is almost always played by Joan Collins much to my surprise

These tragedies must end…

By Cranky Housewife -

These tragedies must end … and Barack Obama is just the guy to make that happen. Of that, I'm absolutely certain. Do not doubt even for a moment that President Obama has a very specific action plan in mind for how to – well, it won't actually end the kind of senseless violence that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut on Friday, but we will all feel better knowing that our president gave us a cosmetic solution to the gangrenous decay that disturbs and infects the collective American psyche.

Our president had a solution for Friday's violence in mind decades before some random General Electric executive even thought of forsaking his unstable wife and children to hang out in Stamford with his new librarian bride. Not that this has anything to do with Friday's violence, as you well know. Peter Lanza's meanderings through morality, Nancy Lanza's odd obsession with anarchy, Adam Lanza's Goth-fixations have no bearing on the situation whatsoever. No. It's guns… the utensils used for Adam's violence that should concern us, and we should not bother considering how a twenty year old man came to a place in his mind where the sociopathic self-absorption of killing kindergarteners and then himself seemed preferable to growing up and getting a clue.

Right. Asperger's syndrome. Shame on me. We must not cast any blame on the perpetrator or his dysfunctional family members. People weren't responsible. He couldn't help himself. His father had nothing to do with it. His mother didn't either. It was the guns.

Reflections on pontifical Tweets

By The Cranky Housewife -

@Pontifix…that's a lot for one mind to process, is it not? I thought to myself, "Myself," said I. "This is a decidedly unusual combination. Twitter and the Vatican? I mean, how's that going to work?" Because I just couldn't visualize the Pope taking time out of his busy schedule to blast out 140 character messages from his smart phone to his Tweeps…of which there are now over half a million and counting. What in the world would he say? And then what would he do after that? Would he grab a half-caf mocha latte and get in a few rounds of Where's My Water before hearing confessions?

It just doesn't jibe. Complete incongruity. It's like my worlds are colliding.

Look, I'm not trying to dis Twitter by any stretch of the imagination, but it is what it is. Twitter's not necessarily the forum for philosophical profundity. There just isn't enough room for that. I know that most of the Tweets that I've received and sent effectively add to the white noise that is the Twitter experience, but they aren't exactly the kind of musings that are worth quoting or repeating or remembering which I believe is completely antithetical to the purpose of a pope. We all expect certain things from our world leaders but frivolity isn't one of them.

Church group warns: Gov Quinn ready to fold at gaming table

SPRINGFIELD - For years, a Methodist-based group of Illinois churches has been fighting a courageous uphill battle against the expansion of gambling. Their last hope of this biggest expansion brining more casinos was Governor Pat Quinn.  Now it seems the Governor is ready to give in to high dollar gaming interests and the strong Democratic leadership pushing for their campaign dollar interests in a state already wrought with corruption and deceit. 

ILCAAAP released an alert Tuesday about the upcoming veto and lame duck sessions and yet another social issue upon which Illinois will be choosing the dark side:

Gambling interests and Legislative sponsors have been pressuring the governor to “flip flop” and cut a “backroom deal” on gambling during the upcoming legislative Veto Session.  Rep. Lou Lang, House sponsor of the massive gambling expansion bill SB 1849, is hoping for an agreement with the governor.  If not, he might attempt an override of the veto when legislators are in session on November 27-29 and December 4-6.

Federal judge rules Obamacare requires Hobby Lobby to fund abortion drugs

CHICAGO - Those Hobby Lobby stores throughout Chicagoland and the nation that close on Sundays and play soothing praise music throughout it aisles of yarn, paints and home decorating products just isn't religious enough to stand against Obamacare's abortion funding mandate, a federal judge ruled Monday. World Magazine reports that simply providing birth control isn't good enough for Hobby Lobby employees, the Christian family-owned business must pay for abortafacients or be fined:

A federal judge in Oklahoma ruled late Monday that the craft chain Hobby Lobby must comply with the Obama administration’s contraceptive mandate. The company, which sued the federal government over the mandate in September, does cover contraceptives through its employees’ health insurance plan. But the company does not cover abortifacients Plan B (the “morning after” pill) and Ella (the “week after” pill), based on the convictions of the Green family, the company’s evangelical founders and owners. 

Stand with Israel rally Tuesday in Chicago Loop

How defensive and edgy would you be if every day a rocket was launched into your neighborhood?

This 2011 video explains what led to Israel's retaliation six days ago. Enough was enough for the Jewish people, who relinquished the Gaza strip in an effort to promote peace. Hamas now uses the territory to launch daily terrorist attacks on their Jewish neighbors.

A Stand with Israel rally is planned for Tuesday at noon outside the Loop Synagogue, 10 S. Clark Street in Chicago:

Standing for religious freedom in the field of medicine (video)

Twelve New Jersey nurses declared they would not participate in ending the lives of innocent babies, and faced job termination because of it. They won their case and stand for religious freedom in their university hospital today.

This video produced by the Alliance Defending Freedom shows a dramatic irony in our confused culture: How can it be so terrible to insist on protecting innocent human life and be so exemplary to resist the capital punishment of convicted criminals?

What does it mean to vote Democrat in 2012?

By John F. Di Leo -

The Democratic Party has undergone many a migration over the centuries; it’s unrecognizable from the party originally started by Madison and Jefferson to oppose President Washington’s economic  agenda.

From its inception, though, one thing has never changed: the Democratic Party has always been, in some way, the pro-slavery party.  

Defender of slavery for the first century, then the opponent of reconstruction after the Civil War, the Democratic Party has always been a supporter of the elites, and in some way a supporter of the oppression of some group -sometimes the Blacks, sometimes the Asians, sometimes Catholics, sometimes Native Americans.  

This much has never changed: the Democrats have never lacked for some group to blame for whatever was going wrong.

Freedom's Journal Magazine launches tv program

Freedom's Journal Magazine recently expanded to include in-person interviews with African-American conservative leaders. In this program, Chicago's Dr. Eric Wallace speaks with author Armstrong Williams and political commentator Raynard Jackson.

More at www.FreedomsJournal.net

Are the presidential debates even relevant?

By The Cranky Housewife -

One of my friends who has the most wonderfully acerbic and clever outlook on life had the following post last Friday on Facebook and it kind of sums up how most conservatives are feeling this week: "I just wanted to beat the liberal media to the punch by making the following announcement – Barack Obama won the debate." Considering that the debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney won't even happen until Wednesday evening, her statement offers an entertaining synopsis of what we can all expect over the next four weeks leading up to the presidential election of 2012.

I recently heard Jonah Goldberg of National Review describe his involvement in covering this presidential race as if he were living in the Matrix – so deep is he in the details of this election cycle that while events speed by the average political consumer, Goldberg experiences an exhilaration of unsurpassed predictability – as if he had seen it all coming from a mile away. Yet I doubt even with this extrasensory perception pulsing through his veins that Mr. Goldberg would go out on a limb and prophesy the winner in November. That's interesting to me because for the mainstream media as a whole, the general meme is that the election is already over. For them, the month of October simply acts as filler until we can have some semblance of a vote and then proclaim victory for the obvious choice.

Paprocki: Think and pray about your vote in the upcoming election

By Springfield Bishop Thomas John Paprocki -

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

Much attention was given at the Democratic National Convention held recently in Charlotte, N.C., to the fact that all references to God had been purged from the draft version of the party platform. After outcries of protest from outside as well as within the Democratic Party, the sentence with the same reference to God used in 2008 was restored to read, "We need a government that stands up for the hopes, values and interests of working people, and gives everyone willing to work hard the chance to make the most of their God-given potential."

Before anyone relaxes and concludes that all is well now that the Democratic Party Platform contains a single passing reference to God, the way that this was done should give us pause. Convention chairman Antonio Villaraigosa had to call for the voice vote three times because each time the sound level for the "ayes" and the "nays" sounded about even, far short of the two-thirds necessary according to convention rules to amend the platform. That did not stop the convention chairman from declaring, "The ayes have it!"

Freedom may not be easy, but it is simple

By Cranky Housewife -

After much debate, intellectuals within the international community have concluded that world peace could and will be obtained when there's far less freedom floating around to mess things up. They have also decided that they are just the people to eradicate the great obstruction to commonality…formally known as liberty. They will, therefore, usher in a new utopian mandate where people must not be overburdened with those pesky freedoms of expression and self-discipline. Too many variables can get in the way of their proposed symmetry and equity because when some individuals lacking restraint are exposed to cultures where autonomy prevails, they just can't handle it. Naturally, their answer is to shut down the autonomy.

Religious Freedom Rally returns October 20 in Chicago and nationwide

CHICAGO - Proponents of the HHS Mandate claim that religious conservatives are waging a “war on women” and insist that only men would oppose the Obamacare requirement.  Over 33,000 women who have signed on to the Prolife Action League's  "Women Speak for Themselves" petition disagree.

The Chicago-based Prolife Action League's new video lets women speak in their own words about why they oppose the HHS Mandate. The video also showcases tons of footage from the June 8 and March 23 Stand Up for Religious Freedom rallies across the country and the broad cross section of people who attended. 

October 20, there will be another round of rallies against the HHS Health Care mandate. Find Rally Locations on this page to find a rally in your area or how to get one started if there isn’t one yet.