McCann campaign attacks prayer in public schools

Two operatives for candidate John McCann's congressional campaign went on a Facebook rant yesterday against the suggestion that prayer in public schools might be a helpful deterrent to school shootings.  The suggestion was made in a Fox-TV interview by Republican candidate for Congress Steve Lonegan, known as the father of the modern conservative movement in New Jersey. 

The two McCannites practically spit on prayer as a solution to anything, one writing of Lonegan that "mentally he's in Fantasyland and has been for some time."  This was a daring statement, considering his own candidate's challenges, and clearly showed contempt for cultural and religious conservatives.

It also ignores the data and the very low incidence of school shootings among, for instance, the 7,498 Roman Catholic schools in the nation.  A daily regimen of prayer does appear to work.  Although this could be merely coincidental, the suggestion should not be so rudely discounted -- and surprisingly by people calling themselves "Republicans."

While one McCann operative called John McCann a "fiscal conservative" (the same camouflage Bill Clinton used to describe himself), the other McCann operative mocked prayer as "a losing issue" and divisively wrote, "I wonder if Steve (Lonegan) would support a Muslim prayer, or a prayer in Spanish."  It goes to show where the McCann campaign's head is and makes you ask how different are these people from far-left Democrats? 

Both McCannites are affiliated with the Young Republicans organization, and one was recently active in the campaign of the Morris County Sheriff.  This leads us to wonder if the Sheriff shares these anti-prayer views too. 

More and more, this Young Republicans group in New Jersey is beginning to resemble a metro-sexual finishing school for socially-challenged post-adolescents.  Their commentary is cut and paste from the script of "Mean Girls."  Yes, Lonegan is in their "burn book."  "Oh, that's so fetch... on Wednesdays we wear pink."

Isn't it time for a little intellectual vigor?  They can start by asking themselves if they really want to be Republicans and how comfortable are they with the party's conservative platform.  Perhaps they'll discover that they're closet Democrats but unaware of it? 

It is also time for cultural conservatives to start their own public policy-centered youth organization.  There are thousands of meetings held across New Jersey by people who do believe in the power of prayer.  These meetings are attended each week by hundreds of thousands of people and the beliefs they represent are shared by millions in the state.  According to the Pew Research Center for Religion & Public Life, 67% of adult New Jerseyeans identify themselves as "Christian."  Of these, 34% are Roman Catholic, with 13% Evangelical Protestant, and 6% Black Protestant.  Mainline Protestant, Orthodox, independent Christian, Mormon, and Jehovah's Witness comprise the remainder. 

Of the non-Christian faiths (14% total), Jewish comes in at 6%, Hindu at 3%, Muslim at 3%, Buddhist at 1%, and other religions 2%.  Although so ascendant in political circles, in academia, the media, and in the cocktail parties of the one-percent -- only 2% identify themselves as atheists, with 3% calling themselves agnostic.  Apparently, the YR's are recruiting heavily from these very tiny groups. 

Oh, and the Wiccans -- that group particularly beloved of the pussy hat brigades and whose "religious" symbol is given equal billing with the Christian cross on the flags carried at rallies by Democrat Party operatives -- their actual numbers are so small (outside the aforementioned circles of politics, academia, the media, and the one-percent) that they fail to register.  Small, but as we see from the legislation they get passed, very powerful.

Yep, the nation needs all the prayer it can get.

Leftist supports anti-gun Brady Rally & Orr-Atwoodski

Kenneth Collins, of the Far-Left Green Party, spent today supporting his friends at the Sussex County Chapter of the Brady Campaign for gun control, while promoting the campaigns of Nathan Orr and David Atwoodski.  Orr and Atwoodski are candidates for the State Legislature.  Collins spent the day trying to get his fellow leftists to crash a Young Republican meeting (of all things!) and take it over on behalf of Orr, Atwoodski -- and presumably, Karl Marx.

Collins is a Green Party member who has run for office as a Green Party candidate and who has plainly expressed his hatred for Donald Trump and all things Republican. . . So why in the world is he helping Orr and Atwoodski?

Maybe they are helping him?  After Orr and Atwoodski get done "softening up" conservative Republicans Parker Space and Hal Wirths in the GOP primary, Kenneth Collins has announced that he wants to take them on in the November election.  Hmmmmmm.

Not only does the Green Party want to ban guns, they want to restrict the use of firearms by police.  It is actually part of their party's National Platform.

The Brady Campaign opposes the right of vulnerable individuals, including the victims of domestic abuse cases, to protect themselves from violence.  The rally was held in Morristown in opposition to federal legislation, introduced in the US House of Representatives as HR38 and the US Senate as S446.  These bills would allow people licensed to carry a concealed firearm in their own state to do so legally in all states.

Joining the Brady Campaign at their rally were people representing a number of groups including Action Together, Citizen Action, NJ 11th for Change, the Green Party, Action Morris County, Gays Against Guns, and the Socialist Workers Party.  They were joined by various elected Democrats.

Legislation proposed in the New Jersey Legislature by Assemblyman Parker Space,  AR-221, memorializes Congress and the President of the United States to enact HR38.  Space is the prime sponsor of this legislation.  Joining him are Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce and Assemblymen Anthony Bucco and Ron Dancer.   Below is the text of Assemblyman Space's legislation:

An Assembly Resolution memorializing the Congress and the President of the United States to allow reciprocity for the carrying of certain concealed firearms.

Whereas, There exists a public interest in individuals maintaining the ability to protect themselves and their families from violence; and

Whereas, The right to keep and bear arms is enshrined in the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution and recognized by the Supreme Court of the United States; and

Whereas, The ability of law-abiding citizens to legally carry concealed firearms to defend themselves is a fundamental right; and

Whereas, It is in the best interest of our nation that citizens be able to travel freely from state to state without sacrificing the right to protect themselves and their families; and

Whereas, States currently may decline to recognize permits to carry concealed firearms issued by other states, thereby causing our citizens to forego the ability to protect themselves and their families when traveling outside of their home states; and

Whereas, Requiring all states to recognize a concealed carry permit issued by another state would rectify this inequality; and

Whereas, H.R. 38 of 2017-2018, the “Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017,” has been introduced in the United States Congress in an effort to protect our citizens’ Second Amendment rights, allowing them to travel between states without sacrificing the ability to protect themselves and their families; and

Whereas, H.R. 38 permits a person carrying a valid identification document containing a photograph of the person and a state concealed weapons permit to carry a concealed handgun in any state, so long as the individual is not prohibited from possessing a firearm under federal law or from carrying a concealed firearm in the individual’s state of residence; and

Whereas, At present 22 states recognize other states’ permits to carry concealed firearms or allow law-abiding non-residents to carry a firearm without a license; and

Whereas, Enactment of the “Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017” will enhance citizens’ Second Amendment rights by permitting reciprocity among all the states for the carrying of concealed firearms; now, therefore,

     Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

     1.    The Congress and the President of the United States are respectfully memorialized to enact H.R. 38, the “Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017.”

     2.    Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly, to the President and Vice President of the United States, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States House of Representatives, and each member of the United States Congress elected from this State.