by Bob Barr | Oct 14, 2020 | Townhall Article |
Townhall Privacy is one of the pillars of a free society. In fact, as renowned philosopher and writer Ayn Rand noted in The Fountainhead more than seven decades ago, privacy is the essential foundation of a civilized society, without which individual freedom cannot be maintained. Yet, when it comes to protecting this essential cornerstone of our society, Congress consistently falls short. Whether controlled by Democrats or the GOP, congressional committees put on great shows. They invite all the big names in Big Tech to a hearing, where members pose eloquent soundbites about “privacy,” “security,” and, of course, “profiting from user data.” Yet, as for doing something meaningful to protect individual privacy rights by legislation or through oversight, Congress is little better than the CEOs they verbally harangue. It is beyond question that private companies, including Big Tech players like Google, Facebook and Twitter, use the vast databases of information they accumulate, to hawk products and develop user “profiles” for commercial benefit. It is also clear that the power they wield can be, and demonstrably has been abused to harm individuals, often because they hold political views at odds with the so-called “Lords of Social Media.” At the end of the day, however, it is only government that can use such databased information to put someone in jail. And it is here – at the intersection between data accumulation and government power – that Congress repeatedly fails to guard against abuse. Ever since the Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791, the government has been bound by the Fourth Amendment, which was designed and intended to limit how law enforcement may invade a person’s privacy and gather information...
by Bob Barr | Oct 7, 2020 | Townhall Article |
Townhall.com Move over COVID-19. There is a new contagion loose in America. This virus attacks that part of the brain which develops and controls the adult male’s sense of self-esteem and courage of conviction. Its effect is felt quickly once the victim exercises any degree of independent thought contrary to the prevailing politically correct orthodoxy. One of the most recent victims of this viral infection is Ohio State University Professor Matthew Mayhew, who succumbed to the intellectually debilitating disease shortly after publishing an opinion piece praising the return of college football at Ohio State. Apparently oblivious to the fate that awaited him, Mayhew last month co-authored an opinion piece titled “Why America Needs College Football,” published September 24th by Inside Higher Ed. The symptoms of the disease swiftly and mercilessly manifested themselves. Three days after Mayhew’s opinion piece was published, a fellow academic – Andrew McGregor, who teaches history at Dallas College in Texas – excoriated Mayhew in the same publication for writing in support of the long-standing Fall tradition known as “college football.” Mayhew’s prostration in the face of this politically correct onslaught quickly followed. The seriousness of the attack on Mayhew’s intellect became evident just two days thereafter, on September 29th, when his complete loss of self-esteem caused him to write an apology in which he berated himself for having voiced support for college football. Some observers might feel compassion for Prof. Mayhew as he confronts the complete, and likely permanent loss of his intellectual courage. It is far more important, however, that we focus on the damage to our culture resulting from the emergence of the disease known...
by Bob Barr | Sep 23, 2020 | Townhall Article |
Townhall.com In every life there comes a moment of “clarity,” in which a decision must be made to stand up and do the right thing, or fold and take the easy way out. For Senate Republicans, that moment is staring them in the face. If they cannot muster 50 votes to confirm a Supreme Court nominee submitted by President Donald Trump, the “Grand Old Party” will no longer deserve being considered a “major” political party; it will have proved itself unworthy of the heritage bequeathed them by such true leaders as Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan. Far more important than the political fallout of such cowardice by a handful of GOP senators, however, will be the long-term damage to one of the most enduring and vital institutions undergirding our government – the Supreme Court of the United States, against which the Democrats have declared open warfare. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi no longer even pretend to camouflage what their intentions are. Should the Democrats win a majority in the Senate and also defeat Trump in the coming election, they will at once start the legislative process to expand the number of justices on the High Court (which has remained at nine for a century and a half). They also will move to change the rules according to which future judicial confirmations will be handled in the Senate. If Democrats succeed in these measures, they will all-but-guarantee the Republican Party will never again be able to ensure a “conservative” majority on the Court. The Democrat’s plan to pack the Court will be solidified if they...
by Bob Barr | Sep 16, 2020 | Townhall Article |
Townhall Nicholas Sandmann, the Catholic high school student who recently settled defamation lawsuits against CNN and the Washington Post, is again in the crosshairs of the Left as he prepares to enter college. In a vivid display of the degree to which the Left — this time those embedded in academia — will mercilessly hound anyone they do not like (particularly someone who has successfully challenged them), members and alumni of Kentucky’s Transylvania University, a school which has admitted Sandmann, publicly are talking about him as if he were a Manchurian Candidate on a mission to destroy the university. He is being called a dangerous “provocateur in training” and a troublemaker because he likely will disrupt classes by daring to question their teachings. Avery Tompkins, a professor at Transylvania and one of its “diversity scholars,” criticized Sandmann for belonging to groups that hold “anti-intellectualist views.” Media reports quoting the professor did not clarify which groups she considers to be “anti-intellectualist” or what she believes the term means. Her dislike for Sandmann was echoed by Samuel Crankshaw who is an alumnus of the University and a communications official with the ACLU. Crankshaw labeled Transylvania’s decision to admit the young “provocateur” a “stain” on the institution. Compare the manner by which the media and academia are treating Sandmann with the fawning praise they lavished on another high school student who found himself in the media spotlight — David Hogg, one of the students who survived the 2018 mass shooting at his high school in Parkland, Florida. Unlike Sandmann, who comports himself publicly with quiet reserve, Hogg became the Left’s foul-mouthed poster child for gun...
by Bob Barr | Sep 9, 2020 | Townhall Article |
Townhall.com Serving as the U.S. Attorney in Atlanta from 1986 to 1990 was in many respects the most rewarding and enjoyable job of my life. Enforcing federal laws under Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush according to the solemn oath I took to protect lives, property and businesses in the Northern District of Georgia, allowed me to work with many fine local prosecutors and then-state Attorney General Mike Bowers, who all shared my commitment to the rule of law. That experience is why it deeply disturbs me now to see a number of current district attorneys and even some state attorneys general who have twisted their oaths of office in ways that actually pit them against law enforcement, and in support of criminals rather than victims of crime. The longer such officials remain in office and are allowed to abuse their power, the more deeply will the essential and fundamental underpinnings of our justice system be damaged. For several election cycles, this design has been the center of billionaire leftist George Soros’ evil plan to remake America’s justice system in his warped image of a socialist-based system pitting rich against poor and condoning mob rule. In this worldview, prosecutors simply refuse to prosecute laws on the books if doing so offends their personal philosophy of “social justice.” Accordingly, people who steal and loot are immune from prosecution if they engaged in such criminal acts in order to get things they need or want but were not able (or willing) to obtain them lawfully. Examples can be seen in so-called “Blue State” cities everywhere, including of course, in California. In the Golden...
by Bob Barr | Sep 2, 2020 | Townhall Article |
Townhall Monday, after months of self-quarantine in his basement, former Vice President Joe Biden emerged to deliver a speech in Pittsburgh. However, rather than present an image of a revitalized, coherent candidate, Biden confirmed what many in America have long-known about him – that he plays fast and loose with the facts and remains clueless about what is happening in the world outside his Washington-centric bubble. Most telling in this regard were Biden’s repeated efforts to blame President Trump for the violence that for months has plagued cities from coast to coast and in the country’s heartland; communities that have been living for years if not decades under ineffectual Democrat Party control. Blaming Donald Trump, a Republican president, for violence in Democrat-run cities even after he has repeatedly denounced it and offered assistance to help quell it, bordered on the ludicrous, but was not the only mendacious story offered up by the former vice president on Monday. For example, the former vice president charged that Trump deployed “secret federal troops” to protect federal property. This claim would be startling if true, but it is utterly without foundation. The Trump Administration did order federal law enforcement officers to protect federal facilities, buildings, and personnel in Portland, Oregon, for example, when they were attacked repeatedly by violent mobs. There was, however, nothing “secret” about the deployment, and there were only civilian federal law enforcement officers involved, not “federal troops.” Considering the many research staff and speech writers available to Biden as both a former vice president and a current presidential nominee, we are left to conclude either that he knew...
