Sheriff Leis Rides Again

You may remember Simon Leis from his previous debacles: jailing a museum director for showing Mapplethorpe photos, fighting to keep Hustler from opening a store in Cincinnati (Leis being one of the main "people" in "The People Vs. Larry Flynt"), and saving us all from the urgent threat of in-room video porn at suburban hotels.

Now Leis is after Satan and all the other liberals. As reported in Cincinnati CityBeat, Leis gave a rousing sermon at the Police Memorial Day recognition on May 10. A brief sample will give you the feel--capitalization original from Leis's transcript:

THE U.S. SUPREME COURT, AFTER 150 YEARS OF BIBLE STUDY IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF THIS COUNTRY, BANNED BIBLE READING AND PRAYER IN OUR PUBLIC CLASSROOMS, AND DECLARED STARTING IN THE 60’S, THE FOLLOWING PRACTICES TO BE VIOLATIONS OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT: THE RECITATION OF PRAYERS COMPOSED BY ANYONE INCLUDING SCHOOL OFFICIALS, BIBLE READING, RECITATION OF THE LORD'S PRAYER, AND PRAYERS AT PUBLIC SCHOOL GRADUATIONS.

SINCE THE FIRST OF THOSE SUPREME COURT DECISIONS, JUVENILE CRIME HAS SKY-ROCKETED, TEEN PREGNANCY AND SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES HAVE INCREASED DRAMATICALLY; VIOLENT CRIME (INCLUDING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE) HAS RISEN 600% OVER THE LAST 30 YEARS; TEEN SUICIDE IS UP 300%; AND DEPRESSION AMONG CHILDREN IS UP 1000%. EVERY DAY, TELEVISION AND NEWSPAPERS INUNDATE US WITH HORRIFIC ACCOUNTS OF CRIME IN OUR COMMUNITIES. AS LAW ENFORCMENT [sic] OFFICERS WE CONFRONT THESE SITUATIONS EVERY DAY.

DAILY WE LEARN OF THE MASS KILLING OF STUDENTS IN OUR SCHOOLS, SHOOTINGS TAKING PLACE IN DAY-CARE CENTERS AND PLACES OF WORSHIP. IS THERE ANY WONDER, WHY SO MANY YOUNG PEOPLE ARE COMMITTING SUCH HORRIBLE CRIMES AGAINST INNOCENT VICTIMS, WHEN WE PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF ATHEISTS, AND ABOLISH THE RECOGNITION OF ALMIGHTY GOD IN OUR CLASSROOMS?

THE VAST MAJORITY OF AMERICANS ARE HARD WORKING, GOD FEARING PEOPLE BUSILY CARING FOR THEIR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, CONTRIBUTING TO THEIR COMMUNITIES, PAYING THEIR TAXES, AND TRUSTING PUBLIC OFFICIALS TO RUN THE DAILY BUSINESS OF THEIR GOVERNMENT IN THEIR BEST INTEREST, AND LAW ENFORCEMENT TO PROTECT THEM FROM THE CRIMINAL ELEMENT.

WHAT MANY FAIL TO SEE, HOWEVER, ARE THE FORCES OF MORAL CORRUPTION WORKING FEVERISHLY, BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. THEY ARE OUT THERE EVERY DAY WALKING THROUGH THE HALLS OF CONGRESS, STATE LEGISLATURES, AND THE COURTS. THE GAY AND LESBIAN COALITIONS, RABID FEMINIST GROUPS, AND THE AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION ALL COMPETING FOR POWER. MANY USE THEIR POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE FUNDS, TO INFLUENCE ELECTED OFFICIALS, TO REPRESENT THESE PARASITIC GROUPS WHO PROSELYTIZE AND FORCE US UNDER THE PROTECTION OF LAW, TO TOLERATE AND ACCEPT THEIR DESPICABLE CONDUCT AND AGENDA.

You might wonder whether Leis will weather the storm caused by this outrageous display. But, first, as far as I can tell there is no storm, in fact the whole event has not been mentioned in Cincinnati's main daily newspaper. (Maybe they think Leis is protected by their settlement with Chiquita a few years back, where they sold out all their journalist integrity and promised not to say critical things.) Second, you could look to history--in fact the specific history of sheriffs giving this speech. You see, Leis appears to have plagiarized this fine piece of oratory from Sheriff John J. McDougall of Lee County, Florida, who gave it in 1999.

Maybe the ACLU made Leis plagiarize?

Workers of the world, unite

In the past week, we've heard about the declining union membership in the United States and about corporations defaulting on their pension plans. Paul Krugman wrote on Friday about the changing relationship between corporations and their employees. He also hinted at something my own paper, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, featured today--the growing gap between CEO and worker pay at companies throughout the country.

Nationwide, the median increase for CEO pay last year was right around ten percent (depending on how you calculate compensation). Meanwhile, real wages for workers have remained basically flat for the past three years. In 2003, the average large-company CEO pay was 500 times that of his or (sometimes) her average worker.

This is a problem with many contributing causes and no easy solution. But there are some questions we should all ask ourselves about how this issue intersects with our lives. Which companies do we invest in, shop at, work for? What are the pressure points that impact corporate decisions about how employees are treated and compensated, and how can we use our power--purchasing, bully pulpit, policy, or otherwise--to reach those pressure points? And does an 'ownership society' suggest policies that help people become owners (like helping first-time homebuyers), or policies that protect people who already are owners (like total elimination of the estate tax)? Especially as our society trends towards protecting the rich, we have a moral imperative to make sure we are looking out for 'the least among us'.

Homeland Insecurity

I keep on expecting someone like Andrew Sullivan or Instapundit to link to this story and include a sanctimonious quote about "this is a sober reminder that we are at war." Maybe they already have. It's actually more of a sober reminder of how far we have to go in this department when two guys on their way to an air show in North Carolina can shut down Washington. It's a good thing these guys are in federal custody. I feel much safer knowing that.

WP says: "Women Returning to Democratic Party".

"Women Returning to Democratic Party, Poll Finds" is the title of a Washington Post article today. Evidently, Celinda Lake, et al, pitted nameless Republicans against nameless Democrats in fictional congressional elections held today...and women chose Democrats.

On the one hand, I'm inclined to delight at any positive indications regarding the future for Democrats, few as they are. Women favoring generic Democrats over generic Republicans is certainly a good thing.

But on the other hand, I'm hard pressed to say what exactly that means. We're not British - we choose individuals, not parties. We never vote for generic candidates - we choose between individuals who inspire us, or not; who we trust, or not; who we like, or not. The vast majority of us are not partisans, so who we say we’d vote for in a generic partisan sense is all but meaningless.

What my party needs right now is not grasping at straws – and the more I reflect on it, the more any amount of glee regarding women choosing generic Democrats in hypothetical elections feels like grasping – but leadership. We need to identify, cultivate, and groom the next generation of leaders.

We can rail all we like against the reality that elections are about personalities as much as they are about issues, but our railing won’t change the reality. And it’s been reality for quite some time. Majorities of voters disagreed with Ronald Reagan on most of his primary policy points – anticommunism the complicated exception – but they liked him. They trusted him. They voted for him. Majorities of voters said they disagreed with Dubya on all sorts of issues – from choice to the war to education policy – but they liked him, they trusted him, so they voted for him.

So, huzzah that women prefer generic Democrats to generic Republicans in pretend elections. Until we run real Democrats in real elections who can earn the support of these same women, we haven’t moved the ball anywhere.