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Opinion
Reece Terry, publisher
Mark Boehler, editor
4 • Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Corinth, Miss.
In defense of Indiana Indiana is experiencing its two minutes of hate. It is doubtful that since its admittance into the union in 1816, the heretofore inoffensive Midwestern state has ever been showered with so Rich much elite obloquy. Lowry Indiana’s sin is that its Legislature passed and Gov. Mike National Pence signed into law a ReReview ligious Freedom Restoration Act, setting out a legal standard for cases involving a clash between a person’s exercise of religion and the state’s laws. The enlightened are stumbling over themselves in their rush to boycott Indiana. Seattle and San Francisco are banning official travel, and Connecticut is following suit. In a Washington Post op-ed, Apple CEO Tim Cook pronounced the Indiana law part of a “very dangerous” trend that allows “people to discriminate against their neighbors” (never mind that his company is happy to do business in Communist China). The anti-Indiana backlash is a perfect storm of hysteria and legal ignorance, supercharged by the particularly censorious selfrighteousness of the left. All the Indiana law says is that the state can’t substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion, unless there is a compelling governmental interest at stake and it is pursued by the least-restrictive means. The law doesn’t mandate any particular outcome; it simply provides a test for the courts in those rare instances when a person’s exercise of religion clashes with a law. Nineteen other states have similar protections, and they are all modeled on a federal version of the law that passed Congress with near unanimity in 1993 (Indiana’s law is arguably a little more robust than the federal version, since it applies to private suits). If these Religious Freedom Restoration Acts were the enablers of discrimination they are portrayed as, much of the country would already have sunk into a dystopian pit of hatred. Legal historians a century from now may be mystified by how a measure that was uncontroversial for so long suddenly became a mark of shame. They will find their answer in the left’s drive to crush any dissent from its cultural agenda, especially on gay marriage. The religious-freedom laws once were associated with minorities that progressives could embrace or tolerate — Native Americans who smoke peyote as part of religious ceremonies, Amish who drive their buggies on the roads, and the like. That was fine. It is the specter of Christian small-business people using the laws to protect themselves from punishment for opting out of gay-wedding ceremonies that drives progressives mad. Why? It’s a large, diverse country, with many people of differing faiths and different points of view. More specifically, the country has an enormous wedding industry not known for its hostility to gays. The burgeoning institution of gay marriage will surely survive the occasional florist who doesn’t want to provide flowers for a same-sex wedding for religious reasons. As a practical matter, such a dissenting florist doesn’t make a difference; the affected couple might be offended, but can take its business elsewhere. But for the left, it’s the principle of the thing. For all its talk of diversity, it demands unanimity on this question –individual conscience be damned. It’s not clear that Religious Freedom Restoration Acts will shield these kind of business people (they haven’t, to this point). It might be that more specific exemptions are necessary. But the mere possibility that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act might protect a baker opposed to gay marriage is enough to create a furious, unhinged reaction. Yes, there is intolerance afoot in the debate over Indiana, but it’s not on the part of Indianans. (Daily Corinthian columnist Rich Lowry can be reached via e-mail: comments.lowry@nationalreview.com.)
Prayer for today My Father, if I am to-day without happiness, may I go in search of it. Help me to remember that the will thou hast given me to overcome evil with good I may use to overcome misery with happiness. Make me careful that I may not be trapped by selfishness as I look for joy. May I delight in the sweet sensations that are felt in having consideration for others, and may I make kindness a daily habit. Amen.
A verse to share “And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:” Romans 11:26
Where the ‘red line’ came from There are still nearly two years left in Barack Obama’s presidency, but historians looking back on his record in foreign policy will surely identify one costly error: his refusal to follow through on the implied threat in stating that the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons would be a “red line.” That statement was made in a press conference Aug. 20, 2012. The president was not scheduled to appear; press secretary Jay Carney said, “Looks like there’s a surprise guest here.” After fielding questions on other topics, Obama responded to NBC’s Chuck Todd’s question on whether he envisioned using U.S. military to keep Syria’s chemical weapons in safekeeping. “We have been very clear to the Assad regime, but also to other players on the ground, that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized,” Obama said. “We have communicated in no uncertain terms with every player in the region that that’s a red line for us and that there would be enormous consequences if we start seeing movement on the chemical weapons front or the use of chemical weapons.” After that question, the press conference was over. This was one year and two
days after Obama said, “the time has come for President Assad to step aside.” Michael Which, of Barone course, he didn’t do Columnist and, twoand-a-half years later, hasn’t done. It was also three months after Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney called for arming Syrian opposition groups and one week before the scheduled opening of the Republican National Convention. And one month after U.S. intelligence agencies detected signs that the Assad regime was moving chemical weapons out of storage, according to a May 2013 story by the well-sourced Peter Baker and three New York Times colleagues. Perhaps presidential politics was on Obama’s mind. Four days after the press conference, Romney said he would send troops to Syria to prevent the spread of chemical weapons. Obama may have communicated his “red line” to pre-empt a Republican attack. Or perhaps, as the Times story suggests, he spoke out of concern that Israel might take action. It reported that Denis McDonough, thendeputy national security
adviser, convened a “frantic series of meetings” on the weekend of Aug. 18-19 on the issue where it was decided that Obama would address the issue publicly. Hence his surprise appearance in the pressroom. But the Times also reported that “red line” was “unscripted and that some advisers were surprised he uttered those words.” But he apparently decided not to take the words back. On the day following the press conference, spokesman Josh Earnest said that “use or proliferation” of chemical weapons “would be very serious, and it would be a grave mistake.” If Obama wanted to protect against political attacks, he succeeded. Syria was mentioned 28 times in the Oct. 22 foreign policy debate with Romney, in which Obama held his own. But after he was re-elected, intelligence agencies reported chemical weapons attacks in Syria in December 2012 and March 2013. An April letter to senators acknowledged that U.S. intelligence thought the Syrian regime was using chemical weapons “on a small scale.” In an April 30 press conference, Obama shifted his emphasis, saying that chemical weapons use “would be a game-changer not simply for the United States but for
the international community.” In September, after it became clear Syria was using chemical weapons, Obama shifted further, saying, “I didn’t set a red line. The world set a red line.” Shortly afterward the red line vanished, as Obama ruled out military action and accepted Vladimir Putin’s offer to supervise removal of Syrian chemical weapons. But the damage was done. “The president bungled the language,” concluded longtime Washington Post diplomatic reporter Glenn Kessler. “He made it appear as if he was denying he had called it a red line, when that obviously was not the case.” Unfortunately, bungling of language has consequences. Government leaders use words like “red line” to mean that grave consequences will follow if the line is crossed. Obama’s failure to back up his “red line” statement with such action has undermined America’s credibility. That’s a problem for America – and the world – until Jan. 20, 2017. (Daily Corinthian columnist Michael Barone is senior political analyst for The Washington Examiner, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a Fox News Channel contributor and a coauthor of The Almanac of American Politics.)
Reforms enacted; ‘meaningful’ yet to be determined OXFORD — Let’s approach this with a timeline: ■ December 2013 — A task force completes its report on wide-ranging changes designed to rein in the double-digit percentage increases in corrections (prison) expenses. Many of the suggestions become law during the 2014 legislative session. ■ Nov. 5, 2014 — Christopher Epps, a 33-year employee of the Mississippi Department of Corrections who has become widely admired by the media and in national corrections circles while serving as corrections commissioner under three governors, shows up at his Jackson office as usual. He cleans out his desk and turns in a one-paragraph immediate resignation. He leaves. ■ Nov. 6, 2014 — Federal officials unseal a 49-count indictment accusing Epps and Cecil McCrory, a former legislator, with 21 pages of wrongdoing — bribery, kickbacks and assorted other crimes involving at least $1 million, possibly as much as $2 million. ■ Nov. 7, 2014 — Gov. Phil Bryant orders a top-down review of all Department of
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Corrections contracts. ■ Nov. 21, 2014 — Gov. Bryant beefs up the new prison task Charlie force, addMitchell ing a circuit judge, forColumnist mer Attorney General Mike Moore and Andy Taggert, who was chief of staff to former Gov. Kirk Fordice. Bryant says all meetings of the group will adhere to the Open Meetings Act. ■ Feb. 15, 2015 — Epps and McCrory show up at the federal courthouse. Epps pleads guilty to two counts and filing a false tax return, agrees to forfeit $1 million, his Flowood home, a Gulf Coast condo and two Mercedes. He tells the judge, “I am sorry for what I have done.” Sentencing is set for June 9, when Epps may learn what life is like on the other side of prison bars. ■ Feb. 15, 2015 — On the same day, Gov. Bryant insists on reforms. “I will not tolerate corruption at any level, and I am continuing to work with the Legislature to implement meaningful
reform to the state contracting process.” At the time, a beefy bill was wending its way through state House and Senate chambers. On the House side, Rep. Jerry Turner, R-Baldwyn, was the go-to guy. He chairs the Accountability, Transparency and Efficiency Committee and, in the role, championed legislation that including more disclosure, more controls. Lobbyists have long been required to register and file expense reports in Mississippi. But if a concern wishes to “gift” his favorite lawmaker with a week in Las Vegas, the lawmaker is not required to report it. In the bill as passed by the House, this would change. The legislation would also add more hoops for agency heads entering “sole source” contracts. No power is more susceptible to corruption than an agency head’s power to spend without seeking bids. Bryant backed the measure as passed by the House. But then it got to the Senate. It’s cliché to say the Senate surreptitiously “wa-
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tered it down,” and it’s also not 100 percent accurate. The Senate did strip out the requirement of reporting gifts (Vegas, here we come) and scaled back on other provisions. It did allow for more sunshine and retained some of the improved controls on solesource contracting. When it was returned to the House last week, members had a choice. They could send it to conference or pass the reforms on which the House and Senate agreed. House Bill 825 (http://billstatus.ls.state. ms.us/2015/pdf/history/ HB/HB0825.xml) passed 102-16 and was sent to Gov. Bryant who is reported to be amenable to signing it. So it’s a step in the right direction. Was it a “meaningful” step? Others can decide that. It was a step, though. No doubt that most public officials are bone honest. But for those who choose to live the high life off their positions of trust, the law still says nobody has to know. (Charlie Mitchell is a Mississippi journalist. Write to him at cmitchell43@yahoo. com.)
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