Tyranny Regnant

Thank Gozer It's Friday!

"Do NOT put onions in the potato salad, sub-creatures!"

The Totalitarian Mind at Work

For some time now I have been following the travails of Aaron and Melissa Klein, who committed the heinous offense of declining to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex marriage ceremony. They had no problem making pastries for gay customers in general, but felt that making a wedding cake would be participating in a ceremony to which they have religious objections.

Instead of simply selecting another baker from among the hundreds of other options available to them, the "victims" in this instance chose to make a stand for tolerance by ruining people for daring to refuse to participate in a ceremony that wasn't even legal in Oregon at the time!

Among the entirely unverifiable "harms" these women claim they suffered were “acute loss of confidence,” “doubt,” “excessive sleep,” “felt mentally raped, dirty and shameful,” “high blood pressure,” “impaired digestion,” “loss of appetite,” “migraine headaches,” “pale and sick at home after work,” “resumption of smoking habit,” “shock” “stunned,” “surprise,” “uncertainty,” “weight gain” and “worry.”

Pictured: Two chronological children, two intellectual children.

Despite the self-evidently ridiculous nature of the "harms" listed above, the Kleins have been relentlessly persecuted. Leading the charge since early on has been a self-righteous nitwit named Brad Avakian. From his post as Commissioner of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, Mr. Avakian has taken it upon himself to brutally suppress any opposition to same-sex marriage in the state of Oregon, even though same-sex marriage was not yet legal in Oregon when the case began.

Now this petty dictator has decided that the offenses committed by the Smiths are so heinous that they must forfeit their 1st Amendment protections altogether. He has actually ordered them to stop talking about their case, and the injustice being visited upon them by his office (a decision the progressive left has been desperately trying to spin away all day). Incredible. Apparently, Mr. Avakian is so convinced of the justness of his actions that he can't abide anyone talking about what he's doing. God bless the Smiths for resisting this abridgement of their liberty.

For guys like Avakian, peaceful coexistence and agreeing to disagree about issues are anathema. These despots expect something quite different from their "subjects."

Have I mentioned that Avakian is a Democrat? That party is where all the enemies of the 1st Amendment can be found these days...

Every Summer...

"Trust me, I'll protect you!"

...for my whole life, really, I have placed my hopes in some new sunscreen product that promised to protect my pale Irish skin from the ravages of the sun. And every summer, for my whole life, I have been turned into a walking boiled lobster at least once, no matter what sunscreen I used.

This summer's first candidate is Coppertone Sport AccuSpray, SPF 30. We'll see how it goes...

"A fool and his money..."

Zip it.

Things That Make Me Happy: Catholic Geek Edition

I have some errands to run in Omaha later today, and that means I'll be in the vicinity of one of my favorite shopping destinations, Gloria Deo.

I've been a regular customer of this place for more than a decade. Among other treasures I have found here are a Celtic Advent wreath I've been using for many years, a St. Benedict coffee mug, the Crucifix and holy water font that hang near my apartment's door, and a wide selection of small religious statuary that sits atop my dresser.

Even on those rare occasions when I leave empty-handed, I'm always glad I visited...

Persuasion 101

 

Until Next Time...

The weather so far this summer hasn't exactly been classic, but whenever I want to think about sunny days and cookouts and carefree summer fun, all I have to do is play some tunes by The Beach Boys. Today's send-off is a nostalgic ode to summers gone by. At my age, I'm a sucker for that sort of thing. Enjoy...