The Ever Growing Tyranny of the Left

* Recently, Sudan convicted 27 year Meriam Yehya Ibrahim of apostasy, and sentenced her to death by hanging. She has one young child and another on the way. Apparently, as is done, she was given three days to return to Islam. She claims she was raised a Christian and denies converting away from Islam. It is punishable by death to convert from Islam to another religion. Ms. Ibrahim refused to renounce her Christianity. A failure to conform to the religious orthodoxy of her country may result in this woman's death.

* So, how is Ms. Ibrahim's situation related to the topic of this post? It is related because the failure to adhere to liberal/leftist political orthodoxy in this country results in some very serious consequences to the offender, including death threats. This blog has written numerous posts concerning leftist tyranny. A very brief recap is in order before moving on to the latest developments.

* New York's Governor previously advised "extreme" conservatives (basically any true conservative) that "they have no place in the State of New York." When Chick-Fil-A's owner said he defined marriage as being between a man and a woman, he was viciously attacked, even by elected officials. SF Mayor Edwin Lee's comment was typical: "The closest Chick-Fil-A to San Francisco is 40 miles away and I strongly recommend that they not try to come any closer." Liberals engaged in a boycott of the restaurant. Leftists and their liberal supporters do not believe in the idea of a "free" America. Go against their orthodoxy and they will try to prevent you from living where you want, or from running a business.

* Donald Sterling is set to lose his ownership of the Clippers in a forced sale, and pay a 2.5 million dollar fine because of private racist comments. While the comments were inappropriate, the punishment results from offending a group protected by the left. He probably could have gotten away with picking on black conservatives; and certainly could have gotten away with attacks on Sarah Palin. Just ask Bill Maher. Sterling went against liberal orthodoxy and will likely lose his business.

* More recently, Brendan Eich was ousted as CEO of Mozilla. His offense? It was discovered that he gave $1000. to the "Yes" on Prop. 8 initiative in California, defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Prop. 8 was passed in 2008, but the fact that his "sin" occurred six years prior did not protect him from losing his job. Eich went against liberal orthodoxy and lost his job.

* Also recently, identical twins David and Jason Benham had a show scheduled to air on HGTV. Because of their religious beliefs (they are devout Christians) they are believers in traditional marriage - and have said so. That was enough for the blogosphere; HGTV cancelled their show. (From O'Reilly, 5/9/14.) It does not matter that, perhaps, the vast majority of potential viewers had an interest in seeing the show. The left shut them down because they went against liberal orthodoxy.

* Are you opposed to abortion? Better not say so publicly. The Center for Reproductive Rights was so upset by the Catholic Church's anti-abortion stance that they are seeking to get the United Nations to declare that anti-abortion advocacy is the equivalent of torture against women and girls. (From JPost online, 5/16/14.) Will the International Criminal Court prosecute the Pope for going against liberal orthodoxy?

* If you do not adhere to liberal orthodoxy there is NO chance of your being able to speak at a college commencement. Recall that Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Christian woman who was born a Muslim, was uninvited to speak and receive an honorary degree from Brandeis University. A fierce advocate for women and girls, she also speaks the truth about how females are treated in much of the Muslim world. But liberal orthodoxy does not allow for that (notwithstanding the paragraph regarding Ms. Ibrahim above, nor the fact that the UN Women agency expressed their "serious concern" about an increase in "honor" killings in the West Bank).

* Condoleeza Rice was to speak at the Rutgers commencement. While the University President did not withdraw her invitation, a combination of faculty objection and student protests caused her to withdraw. Rice noted that the commencement was for the students and she did not want to be a distraction. Said one female Muslim student protester: "This woman has committed so many crimes, you know she has not even been put to trial, so how can we look up to someone who has been responsible for the deaths of so many?" I suspect many university professors would express the same attitude about Rice and the rest of the Bush Administration officials.

* Meanwhile, Angela Davis was to speak at UCLA and receive, among other honors, a $43,000. honorarium. (From the 5/12/14 Investor's Business Daily.) Davis' affiliation with the Communist Party was part of the reason she was fired from UCLA back in 1969. Does it matter that Communist ideology was responsible for the deaths of tens of million of people in the twentieth century? If conservatives were allowed to speak at universities, I would have no problem with radical leftists also doing so.

* But even liberals can run afoul of their own orthodoxy. Robert Birgeneau was chancellor at UC Berkeley, and was to give the commencement address at Haverford college. According to Daniel Henninger in the 5/15/14 Wall Street Journal, Birgeneau supported minority students, including the LGBT community and illegal aliens. However, "in 2011 the Berkeley police used "force" against (the) Occupy" Wall Street crowd, then demonstrating in Sproul Plaza on campus. Mr. Birgeneau was forced to withdraw.

* Do not question the liberal orthodoxy of climate change. The 5/19/14 IBD reports that Lennart Bengtsson is a Swedish climate scientist. Yet, a top academic journal has reportedly rejected a paper jointly submitted by Bengtsson and four others. The IBD quotes one peer reviewer as saying that the paper "is harmful as it opens the door for oversimplified claims of 'errors' and worse from the climate skeptics media side." In other words, do not go against the liberal orthodoxy of climate change. Said Bengtsson: "I had not expect(ed) such an enormous worldwide pressure put at me from a community that I have been close to all my active life."

* I would like to be able to write that most liberals do not agree with any of the above threats to liberty and freedom. However, in my personal discussions with liberals, it is extremely rare to hear any criticism of their own. I would like to think they, too, can see the 'big picture' of what is occurring all around them. But they cannot. Having gone to schools and universities teaching liberal orthodoxy, reading newspapers and magazines that advocate liberal orthodoxy, listening and watching TV news and shows and movies that advocate for liberal orthodoxy, I can only conclude that they are too brainwashed to recognize the danger. Make no mistake, however. The danger is real, and the threats to our society will only increase unless liberals stand up and say "enough!"