Straining at Gnats and Swallowing Camels

One of the many qualities shared by both political and religious liberals is their marvelous ability to strain at gnats and swallow camels.  Both can make such a big deal about the trivial but commit the most egregious outrages even as they so do.

Christopher Johnson illustrates this well.

The governing body of United Church of Christ congregations in the Mid-Atlantic is proposing that its members boycott Washington Redskins games and shun products bearing the team’s logo until the team changes its name and mascot. 

Of course, those with the least familiarity with the United Church of Christ know they are a profoundly apostate denomination that jettisoned the basics of the faith decades ago.  But boycotting the Redskins is oh-so-important. 

Now this Texan hates the Washington Redskins.  And just the thought of the 49ers or of the Steelers has me reaching for my imprecatory psalms.  But at least I have some sense of what’s important to the Christian faith.

Then there is this from Obama’s Feds:

For more than three decades the predominantly Aleut fishing community of King Cove has been fighting to build a one-lane,gravel track connecting the Cove to the nearby hamlet of Cold Bay. What they have gotten is 30 years of flat-out federal refusals or stall tactics. 

Cove residents say a road is necessary so they can reach an all-weather airport in Cold Bay that will transport them to Anchorage, about 625 miles away, for medical treatment. They say that in emergency situations, it’s a matter of life and death. 

Late last year, though, the Department of Interior announced it was rejecting plans for a proposed land swap that would allow the road to be built. The Dec. 23 decision cited the negative environmental impact on grizzly bears, caribou and water fowl like the Pacific black brant. . . .

According to local Aleutian elders, 19 people have died since 1980 as a result of the impossible-to-navigate weather conditions during emergency evacuations.

During an August visit to Alaska, Jewell was told that building a road that connects King Cove and Cold Bay was vital. But in December, Jewell rejected the road saying it would jeopardize waterfowl in the refuge.

“She stood up in the gymnasium and told those kids, ‘I’ve listened to your stories, now I have to listen to the animals,” Democratic state Rep. Bob Herron told a local television station. “You could have heard a pin drop in that gymnasium.”

The land required for the road is less than 1 percent of the total refuge.

Now I love waterfowl, too.  And God help those I catch trespassing on my duck pond.  But I am not going to endanger or even kill people to defend my ducks.

Now the liberal propensity to strain at gnats and swallow camels at least provides some amusement.  For example, I love this comment at the above link:

If the gravel road ended at an abortion clinic the Army Corps of Engineers would be air lifting bulldozers at near supersonic speed.

 Too true.  Yes, said propensity can be amusing . . . until people get hurt.