This article, written by nationally syndicated conservative columnist L. Brent Bozell, is sponsored by OXFORD MORTGAGE, EVANSVILLE, IN. SCOTT KLUEH, PRESIDENT. CALL (812) 476-9740.

The latest solid proof that Hollywood really can’t stand traditional Christianity has arrived in an unfolding boycott of Chick-fil-A, a Georgia-based fast-food chain that’s rapidly spreading franchises across America.

Chick-fil-A demonstrates a public faith by closing all its stores on Sundays and on Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s something the left ridicules but something anyone of any faith respects.

It’s the company’s donations through its WinShape Foundation that have launched the intolerant gay left into action. Chick-fil-A has dared to donate their profits to groups like the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (Horrors!) and the Marriage and Family Foundation (No!).

Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy told the Baptist Press that, “We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.” This man just has to cut it out. Who does he think he is?

But what really infuriated the left was Cathy’s comments on a radio show that “I think we are inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say, ‘We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage.'”

One of Hollywood’s first moves came from The Jim Henson Co., the iconic family entertainment group that invented the Muppets. They issued a statement on Facebook proclaiming they were withdrawing any association through kid’s-meal toys with the chain. “The Jim Henson Company has celebrated and embraced diversity and inclusiveness for over fifty years and we have notified Chick-fil-A that we do not wish to partner with them on any future endeavors,” they declared. “Lisa Henson, our CEO is personally a strong supporter of gay marriage and has directed us to donate the payment we received from Chick-fil-A to GLAAD.”

In other words, they’re suggesting that they’ll be better corporate citizens by giving their Chick-fil-A kiddie-meal money to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, a group that fervently seeks to censor all traditional Christians from being allowed to say anything “anti-gay” on television news or entertainment programs. Even the Muppet people are in thrall to speech-squashing political correctness.

Other critics emerged on Twitter. “Chick-fil-A doesn’t like gay people? So lame,” actor Ed Helms (of “The Hangover” movies) tweeted. “Hate to think what they do to the gay chickens! Lost a loyal fan.” Several other bold-type Hollywood moralists — Miley Cyrus, Lindsay Lohan and Kim Kardashian — also backed a Chick-fil-A boycott.

But few can compare with the undiluted spite of Roseanne Barr, who grabbed all the attention with her death wishes on Twitter: “anyone who eats S—t Fil-A deserves to get the cancer that is sure to come from eating antibiotic filled tortured chickens 4Christ.”

This came after she had called them “chick filet- nazi chicken f—-ing pricks.” She also cracked she was “off to grab a s—it fil-A sandwich on my way to worshipping Christ, supporting Aipac and war in Iran.” When people attacked her for saying people “deserved” cancer, she lectured, “Giving (your kids) Cancer from processed fast food is child abuse.” To think that this genius just tried to run for president of the United States on the Green Party ticket is mind-boggling.

Chick-fil-A put out a corporate response making the obvious point (at least to their customers) that you will find no disrespect at their restaurants. “The Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect — regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender.”

The statement added, “Going forward, our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena.” That’s exactly what Hollywood wants to hear. On the Internet, they photograph themselves with taped mouths and paint “No H8” on their cheeks, but they display more hate and more desire to shut people up than the wackiest of right-wing yahoos.

The left will always go further. Steven Kurlander, a blogger on the Huffington Post “Gay Voices” site, is mastering Orwellian speech: “Chick-fil-A’s continued support of anti-gay groups and Cathy’s discriminatory comments cross the line of decency.” In the 21st century, we’re told it’s indecent to be a Bible-believing Christian. He added that Chick-fil-A should be banned from taxpayer-supported facilities and should not be allowed to “work with public school children.”

Dan Cathy is right. We really are shaking our fist at God. Giving him the finger, too. Do we deserve forgiveness?

L. Brent Bozell III is the president of the Media Research Center. To find out more about Brent Bozell III, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

Ah, it’s almost August — time for another quadrennial flowering of America’s glorious democratic process, otherwise known as the presidential nominating conventions!

This grand testimonial of our citizens’ rights and liberties will begin with the Republicans in Tampa, Fla. Flags are being mounted, majestic music is arranged, uplifting speeches are being scripted — and, as has now become normal for these spectacles of democracy-in-action, heavily armed police repression of our cherished First Amendment rights is being ordered.

Of course, the delegates, candidates, lobbyists and billionaire funders inside the GOP’s convention bunker will be perfectly free (as they should be) to gild the promises and lies that will frame their presidential campaign. They will not be bothered by the riot-geared police authorities deployed around Tampa. However, any citizens who come to practice the hallowed freedoms of public assembly and speech can expect to be welcomed by a thoroughly un-American, weeklong police state.

In May, at the behest of national Republican officials, Tampa’s mayor and council passed a temporary ordinance to suspend our First Amendment and authorize a crackdown on protestors. Warning ominously that a few vandals might get out of control, the ordinance tries to force all citizen demonstrations into a few restricted parade routes and what amounts to “protest pens.” Pre-emptive detainments, indiscriminate mass arrests and police infiltrations of peaceful protest groups can be expected. Ironically, that’s the kind of autocratic excess that led to the American Revolution itself.

The city’s top lawyer recently barked that “troublemakers … will not be tolerated.” But the real troublemakers are those inside the hall — and inside a police system that’s being used to stomp on the very freedoms that America is supposed to embrace and encourage.

One of the juiciest ironies of Tampa’s newly minted law to suppress protest at the upcoming Republican National Convention is that it bans the carrying of water pistols by protestors. However, thanks to Florida’s nutty right-wing governor, anyone with a concealed-weapon permit is free to tote an actual bullet-firing pistol throughout the proceedings! Apparently, the authorities really do consider blood to be thicker than water.

Even nuttier is the fantasy of convention organizers that they can lock down the feisty and essential American spirit of political protest with a rash of ridiculous liberty-repressing laws. Among their ordinances is a directive that thousands of demonstrators squeeze their public expressions into short “parade routes” and out-of-the-way “viewing areas.” This is as futile as King George III demanding 225 years ago that American revolutionaries march into battle by lining up in neat rows to be shot down by his Redcoats.

A spokesman for one protest group says flatly that its members will pick their own spots to assemble and have their say: “We (Americans) were born with the right to move freely from place to place and speak our minds,” he rightly points out. Also, a poor people’s coalition is setting up a “Romneyville” on private property in Tampa, providing what it calls “a kind of refuge” against the government’s attempt to box in its protest of official policies that are increasing poverty all across America.

The opposite of courage is not cowardice, it’s conformity. What makes America great are courageous folks like these who refuse to go along with authoritarians and elites who always demand that we surrender our most basic liberties to protect them from speech they don’t want to hear. To keep up with this never-ending battle of rights versus wrong, go to the National Lawyers Guild’s website at nlg.org.

To find out more about Jim Hightower, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.

These nationally syndicated cartoons are sponsored by Guthries Pharmacies

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The University of Southern Indiana’s Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice Studies has received a grant of $60,241 from the National Parks Service’s American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) to fund archaeological research at Fort Ouiatenon near West Lafayette, Indiana.

Established in 1717 by the French as a fur-trading and military post, Fort Ouiatenon is the site of USI’s 2013 Archaeological Field School to be led by Dr. Michael Strezewski, assistant professor of anthropology. Ten USI students will participate in the field school and a five-week excavation of the site next summer. The archaeological remains of the fort and the surrounding area are owned by the Tippecanoe County Historical Association.

“In previous investigations, we found evidence for a number of Native American houses in the vicinity of the fort and other possible fort-related activities,” Strezewski said, referring to work with Dr. Robert G. McCullough, formerly of Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.

The fort was occupied until the 1780s. The Native American villages in the area were attacked and destroyed by the Kentucky militia in 1791, under the command of Charles Scott and after that, the area was no longer a hub of Native American trade, according to Strezewski.

“We are proud to support projects like this that safeguard and preserve American battlefields,” said Jon Jarvis, director of the National Park Service. “These places are symbols of individual sacrifice and national heritage that we must protect so that this and future generations can understand the struggles that define us as a nation.”

The grant is one of 27 National Park Service grants totaling $1.35 million to preserve and protect significant battle sites from all wars fought on American soil. Funded projects preserve battlefields from the Colonial-Indian Wars through World War II and include site mapping (GPS/GIS data collection), archaeological studies, National Register of Historic Places nominations, preservation and management plans.

Federal, state, local, and tribal governments, nonprofit organizations, and educational institutions are eligible for National Park Service battlefield grants which are awarded annually. Since 1996 more than $14 million has been awarded by ABPP to help preserve significant historic battleifleds associated with wars on American soil. Additional information is available online at www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp.

For the last several years, USI’s Archaeological Field School has been held in New Harmony, Indiana.

Evansville– Indiana State Senate candidate Terry White outlined his plans for rebuilding Indiana’s crumbling infrastructure and fueling job creation. White’s proposal focuses on providing the resources needed to create an efficient infrastructure network that cut costs for Hoosier businesses and puts money back in working families’ wallets.

“We must seize the opportunity to rebuild our crumbling roads and bridges while we can,” said White. “We reduce costs for businesses already established, attract new businesses and put Hoosiers back to work earning a living wage.”

White’s proposes leveraging capital from the state’s $2 billion in reserves in the form of low interest loans to local governments to fund repairs to roads, bridges, sewers and other vital infrastructure. Interest on the loans will be reinvested back into the fund.

“Job creating through infrastructure development is a proven fact. Every dollar invested returns $1.59 in additional growth and every $10 million invested can create as many as 570 jobs and as much as $32 million in sales for Indiana businesses,” said White. “It is time to give our communities the tools that will help them put Hoosiers back to work.”

Prospective employers list infrastructure and an educated workforce as major factors in locating their business. Hoosier businesses are saddled with extra costs from delays and damage caused by inefficient and inferior infrastructure.

“The Indiana General Assembly costs local businesses money and jobs by not providing for the state’s infrastructure needs.” White said. “I’m fighting for working families to provide the resources to our communities and businesses they need to hire more workers and get our economy back on track.”

H.R. 459 Passes House with More Than Two Thirds Majority! 327 – 98. This bill which was sponsored by Congressman Ron Paul had 271 co-sponsors but was able to attract a substantial number of the democrat members of the house to support it. The Senate will be the next stopping place for the bill that is not expected to be allowed the courtesy of a vote by Senator Harry Reid of Nevada who worked hand in hand with Representative Nancy Pelosi to pass Obamacare in a highly partisan vote.