A friendly Reminder

Baltimore, Black, White and Central Power by Jake MacAulay Recently Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced that the Justice Department will investigate the Baltimore Police Department, an investigation that City Executive, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake of Baltimore requested.  So it seems she is calling for an examination into her own failings?    Please take note that this investigation is distinguished from a separate civil rights probe which the Attorney General’s Offic

Jay Z and Beyoncé Bankrolling Liberty or Slavery? by Jake MacAulay Jay Z and Beyoncé bankrolled protesters in Baltimore and Ferguson with tens of thousands of dollars in bail money, a writer and social activist close to both of them claimed.   “I can say I’ve personally helped facilitate donations they’ve given to protesters directly and that they never ask for anything in return, especially publicity,” author Dream Hampton told the Daily News in an email.   In my former life

Will Indiana Be Broken by Law? by Jake MacAulay At the foundation of every social order is a concept of law, government and individual rights. For most of the history of our country this foundation was the Bible — the Word of God — including both the Old and New Testaments. All of the original 13 states expressed in their Constitutions that the Christian Faith was the foundation of law. And the laws of each of those states were designed to secure the protection of its exercis

Is the Supreme Court the God of Marriage? by Jake MacAulay As you read or watch my column this week I will be at the United States Supreme Court with my Pastor and family to show my support of God-ordained marriage between one man and one woman. We at Institute on the Constitution also participated in the case currently before the Supreme Court with an Amicus Brief that respectfully warned the court of the certainty of God’s judgment upon a society that would attempt to redef

Do TSA's Threat-Spotting Tips Threaten The Fourth Amendment? by Jake MacAulay Have you ever thought about who could be a potential threat in an airport? Well, according to the Transportation Security Administration that’s pretty much anyone who’s breathing.The TSA has kept its Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques, or SPOT, checklist out of the public eye for quite a while, but on Friday The Intercept published the 92-point checklist after a disgruntled TSA source

Can Obama Serve Another Term? by Jake MacAulay I have heard from time to time that there are people in America who believe Obama is going to try to run for another term as President. I could see the theory flames being stoked this weekend as Obama invoked the “cut it out” gesture, slicing his hand in front of his neck while a small crowd at a Princeton basketball game cheered, “Four more years! Four more years!” The last president to embark on a third term was the philanderer

Is Dr. Carson Making Believe? by Jake MacAulay Since I released my column last week titled “ Just What are Gay Rights?”  I have received a lot of feedback. Especially since a day later Dr. Ben Carson made a clarification of his Gay Rights statements. The good doctor said on Facebook, “While I remain opposed to same-sex marriage, I have and will continue to support recognition of same-sex civil unions. I have and will continue full recognition of same-sex marriage in state jur

So Just What Are Gay Rights? by Jake MacAulay Recently I had the opportunity to speak at a conference with Dr. Ben Carson, a possible Presidential candidate, and I had a chance to learn more about him and his views. Dr. Carson was the leading pediatric neurosurgeon in the world – he was not just able to perform brain surgery but was gifted with the skills that earned him international acclaim.   He is a powerful and knowledgeable speaker who clearly articulates a strong pro-m

Billionaires and Billions of Food Stamps by Jake MacAulay Forbes.com reported this week that, “A record 290 newcomers joined the Forbes billionaires list in the last year as world markets defied international turmoil. While wars, diseases and currency crises made headlines, tycoons from every continent but Antarctica managed to mint new 10-figure fortunes.”     The United States ranked second, contributing 57 new billionaires. Who is the most famous rookie on the billionaire

Edward Snowden Wins Oscar, Loses Country by Jake MacAulay Director Laura Poitras accepts the award for best documentary for her film & Citizen four at the 2015 Film Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica. Edward Snowden was recently recognized for his heroic Patriotism again as Citizenfour, the film chronicling the events surrounding his heroic and historic revelation of U.S. government wrongdoing, and received critical acclaim including an Oscar. As you may recall, Snowde

Chief Justice Roy Moore Defends The American View - Will You? by Jake MacAulay CNN’s Chris Cuomo made the following statement in a recent interview with Roy Moore, the elected Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court:   “Our rights do not come from God, your Honor, and you know that. They come from man... That’s your faith, that’s my faith, but that’s not our country. Our laws come from collective agreement and compromise.”   Perhaps it would do Mr. Cuomo well to quote his

Is America Waging War on Law? by Jake MacAulay “America! America! God shed His grace on thee And crown thy good with brotherhood From sea to shining sea!”   Does this song describe the America we live in currently, where preachers like Dr. Kent Hovind are being held in prison? Creation scientist Dr. Hovind, often referred to as “Dr. Dino” due to his passion for dinosaurs, has been behind bars in 20 different prisons for over eight years so far — and could remain there for the

The Man with the Pen and Phone "Weighs in on Deflate-a-Bowl" by Jake MacAulay I know many of you still recall the deflated New England Patriots footballs and how important that is to patriotism. When Barack Obama was asked if it was cheating, the president said, “If you break the rules then you break the rules.”   Apparently our current Executive Branch and concurring Congress takes this same mentality. Congressmen are the ones who write the check to underwrite executive poli

Has History Channel Gone Pop? by Jake MacAulay Starting my commentary this week has been tremendously difficult. I am torn because in just one week ABC reporter George Stephanopoulos stated he was “struck by the final line” of Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s speech in which he proclaimed, “our God wins,” followed by the History Channel airing its Sons of Liberty program which even film critic Thomas Verenna concludes is merely “…highly-entertaining historical fiction.” Over

Rick Perry's Gift to Texas' Governor-Elect... A Bible Verse? by Jake MacAulay For this week’s commentary, I just want to say that I love Jesus! He is not only the greatest teacher to ever live, but also the best political leader.   His statutes and judgments were always perfect! People, not himself, were always His priority. He knew when to give harsh critique of the self-righteous and when to give necessary justice in times of political hypocrisy. He acknowledged the need an

Hey Michelle, "Trash cans are fuller than our stomachs!" by Jake MacAulay Many of you can relate with me when I say the words, “school lunch.” I have toured all across America speaking in public high schools and the first thing that brings me back to my childhood is by far the smell of the lunchroom.   Have you noticed that government is making itself more and more at home in all our lives? Not only does government tax and spend in areas we never gave them permission, but fed

Ferguson & the Failure of Civil Rights by Jake MacAulay Events in Ferguson, Missouri, this year have definitely put this city in the center of public awareness.  But these events, which followed in the aftermath of a shooting death of a man by a police officer, have also led to protests in other cities including Dallas, Boston, LA, and New York. Modern day so called “civil rights leaders” like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, have relentlessly and shamelessly used the troubling

Merry Christmas from your Government by Jake MacAulay In this Christmas season I deeply consider giving and…well…shouldn’t we all?  I was taught as a child that to give is better than to receive.  At IOTC we follow the example of our founders: we believe God is above all power, especially Government. God gave you and I an amazing gift called rights - rights of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness - and he set Government to protect those rights.     Government is suppos

Sydney Hostage Tragedy and Its American Cousin by Jake MacAulay   Just a few days ago a dangerous and deadly hostage ordeal unfolded in Sydney, Australia.  According to news reports the Muslim man who perpetrated the event is a self-proclaimed minister of the Islamic state.   As a result of his actions, liberties were sacrificed.   Lives were lost.   And, no matter his motives -- and no matter the motives of those he may have been trying to please – I think we can agree that

Is Belief in God Required to Hold Office In America? by Jake MacAulay There are seven states including Maryland with language in their constitutions that prohibits people who do not believe in God from holding public office. And now, according to a recent New York Times article by Laurie Goodstein, a coalition of nonbelievers including atheists, agnostics, humanists and freethinkers, led and primarily funded by atheist Todd Steifel, says it is time to get rid of these atheist