SelwynDuke.com

Obama’s Henchmen

By Selwyn Duke

The big questions now surrounding Barack Obama’s triumvirate of scandals is “How much did he know?” and “When did he know it?” Former presidential advisor David Axelrod made the point that the government is “so vast” that the president can’t possibly know all that transpires. Of course, this is one of the best arguments against big government a leftist ever put forth, yet the truth is that Axelrod is right. But this brings us to an important, and usually ignored, point.

Obama knew what his underlings were (or should have known) when he picked them up.

My phraseology references an old American Indian tale about a little boy who, after doing a rattlesnake a series of good turns, was nonetheless bitten by the serpent when the charitable endeavors were complete. When the lad registered shock and asked why the snake would do such a thing, the rattler replied, “You knew what I was when you picked me up.”

Read the rest here.

Obama’s and Holder’s Selective Constitutional Deafness

By Selwyn Duke

Often a phenomenon of bad marriages, “selective deafness” is when one hears only what is convenient. The same failing manifests itself in government when politicians and judges hear the Constitution talk only when it sings their tune. Worse still, sometimes these people behave as if the document says things it doesn’t. This is the equivalent of hearing things.

Boston: Blowing up America

By Selwyn Duke

Sometimes a reaction can be worse than an action, even when that action is very, very diabolical. Some would argue that this was the case with 9/11, with the resultant long-term loss of freedom, misguided military ventures, and no serious effort whatsoever to seal a porous back door to America.

The Boston Marathon bombing also may prove to be a case in which reaction surpasses action in damage. After all, what good is a doctor’s treatment if his diagnosis and prescription are wrong, if he claims that what’s healthy is Hell-sent and portrays poison as palliative? And what good are our diagnoses and prescriptions relating to terrorism if we demonize the realists and sanitize the terrorists? When our physicians will not, or cannot, heal themselves, is the greater danger posed by those who proudly spread the disease in the name of one evil cause or those who offer a faux cure in the name of another?

Airline Passenger Detained for Being a Jerk

By Selwyn Duke

The bigger the government, the greater the opportunity to seek revenge by state action. This has been demonstrated throughout history, and now current events are teaching the same lesson.

The latest example involves 52-year-old California businessman Salvatore Bevivino, who was detained after a Virgin America flight in April, 2013 for, he reports, refusing to flush a toilet and arguing with a stewardess over a soda. Writes The Smoking Gun:

A flight attendant told cops that Bevivino argued with her over the ordering of a soda via a computer touchscreen. "My time is precious, you are here to serve me," Bevivno [sic] said, according to the flight attendant.

Following the soda confrontation, the flight attendant told police, Bevivino "went to the restroom, came back out with a smile on his face and began using profanities." When the flight attendant passed by the lavatory, she "saw that Bevivino left the door open and did not flush the toilet."