The man has a gun
he knows how to use it
Nine millimeter Browning
let’s see what he can do— Lou Reed
Capt. American was my favorite superhero as a kid — before I tired of the rigid world of good and evil. But there is something unsettling about this image, of the captain with a gun. It just doesn’t seem right.
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James Carroll makes a case for the separation of church and state that should be required reading not just for “secular progressives” (to borrow the noxious Bill O’Reilly’s term) but for anyone who cares about the future of religion — and Christianity in particular.
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I hauled — well, you know what I mean. Ran seven miles in just under 62 minutes — which works out to an 8:50 per mile pace. That’s pretty sharp for me, and right in line with my goal to gain speed over the next three weeks leading into the Run with the Vikings 5K on Nov. 4.
Music: A mix
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The state Election Law Enforcement Commission told us Monday that a decision on Linda Greenstein’s request for “rescue funds” under the state’s clean elections law would come by Wednesday morning.
Seems an obvious question to answer: Is an outside organization targeting a candidates in an effort to sway voters? The answer, of course, is yes.
But Brian Brown, chairman of Common Sense America and executive director of the National Organization for Marriage, groups that agitate against same-sex marriage, is correct when he says he has a constitutional right to weigh in on the campaign.
This goes for these shadowy groups — the National Organization for Marriage Web site appears to be little more than a vessel to collect donations — and bigger, more established groups like the Nation Organization for Women, the Sierra Club, etc.
Imagine that NOW was running ads seeking to highlight the pro-choice positions of Seema Singh or Linda Greenstein, or to ask the other four candidates to state explicitly where they stand. Should state law preclude the ability of issue-groups to advocate on behalf of their issues, even if their advocacy may be interpreted as electioneering? The answer seems obvious to me — as it should to anyone who values the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
That’s why, as I said yesterday, the “rescue fund” provision exists. Remember, the clean elections program is voluntary — and must remain voluntary for it to pass constitutional muster. Candidates do not have to participate.
But candidates who opt in, as seven of the eight candidates who are on the ballot have, should not be placed at a disadvantage (doing so will only provide a disincentive to opt in, defeating clean elections and leaving private money and its corrosive influence in place) should they face a candidate with deep pockets who chooses not to participate, or an attack from an outside group like Common Sense America.
While the candidates have called for Brown to “leave the district” or to cease and desist, supporters of clean elections should be thankful that the controversy erupted — and that Libertarian Jason Scheurer is suing over the distribution of cash. These little hurdles offer important tests of the program, giving the state Legislature a better handle on how it should work when applied statewide in the (hopefully) very near future.
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Have I ever mentioned that I’m a Colorado Rockies fan?
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Hank Kalet 