Speaking of National Sovereignty . . .

Posted April 19, 2009, 9:48 p.m.

As I promised when Barack Obama (D) was elected President of the United States, I will oppose him when he is wrong and support him when he is right. Today, Obama did something 100 percent right: he announced that the United States will not participate in the United Nations’ Durban II conference. Formally known as the ‘Durban Review Conference’ or ‘2009 U.N. World Conference Against Racism (WCAR)’, this meeting is not as innocuous or positive as its names might lead you to believe.

The governments of Australia, Canada, Germany, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, and Sweden have joined Obama in this boycott, citing fundamental flaws in the preparatory process. The conference, ostensibly intended to produce a document and policies to be applied world-wide to oppose racism, has instead turned into a thinly-veiled anti-Semitic attack on Jews and Israel and, if that wasn’t enough, it proposes worldwide legislation to outlaw criticism of Islam (of course, criticism of Christianity and Judaism is still just fine). Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, perhaps the world’s leading anti-Semite, has been selected to be the conference’s keynote speaker. Ludicrous.

I applaud President Obama and the leaders of the other countries boycotting this farce, and condemn the United Nations—an organization supposedly intended to foster peace and liberty in the world—for allowing one of its own component organizations to tacitly support racism (so long as it’s against Jews) and undermine the fundamental human rights to free speech and religion. After all, free speech means freedom to offend. As a Christian I can take criticism of my faith and will ‘defend to the death’ the right of anti-Christians to express their opinions, however much I disagree with them, so long as I have equal right to speak in opposition. I expect Muslims to behave in an equally civil manner toward criticism of their faith.

Scott Bradford has been putting his opinions on his website since 1995—before most people knew what a website was. He has been a professional web developer in the public- and private-sector for over twenty years. He is an independent constitutional conservative who believes in human rights and limited government, and a Catholic Christian whose beliefs are summarized in the Nicene Creed. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from George Mason University. He loves Pink Floyd and can play the bass guitar . . . sort-of. He’s a husband, pet lover, amateur radio operator, and classic AMC/Jeep enthusiast.

Quotes

In the United States . . . all that [a man] asks of the State is not to be disturbed in his toil, and to be secure of his earnings.

By 2005 or so, it will become clear that the Internet’s impact on the economy has been no greater than the fax machine’s.

A constitution is a compact of a people with their rulers; if the rulers break the compact, the people have a right and ought to remove them and do themselves justice.

When one practices first and preaches afterwards, one is really teaching with power. Doctrine loses credibility, if conscience tethers the tongue.

In making any assertion, we must be guided by the nature of things, except in those things which are above nature, and are made known to us by Divine authority.

Remind professional pacifists who have accepted the paralyzing peace propaganda of the Communists that the same Jesus who taught "love thy enemy" never advocated surrendering to him.

Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are part of nature and therefore part of the mystery that we are trying to solve.

I had anger but never hate. Before the war, I was too busy studying to hate. After the war, I thought, What’s the use? To hate would be to reduce myself.

The liberties of none are safe unless the liberties of all are protected.

There is a price which is too great to pay for peace, and that price can be put in one word. One cannot pay the price of self-respect.

For the worship of idols not to be named is the beginning and cause and end of every evil. For their worshipers either rave in exultation, or prophesy lies, or live unrighteously, or readily commit perjury; for because they trust in lifeless idols they swear wicked oaths and expect to suffer no harm.

Despite the constant negative press covfefe

What the country needs is dirtier fingernails and cleaner minds.

You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new.

Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.

Once [President Eisenhower] makes up his mind, he’s full of indecision.

For the spiritual power of a sacrament is like light in this way: . . . if it passes through the impure it is not defiled.

An unjust law is no law at all.

Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem.

[The] truth is incontrovertible. Panic may resent it, ignorance may deride it, malice may distort it, but there it is.