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Clerk’s actions are shameful; Oren M. Spiegler; Beaver County Times; September 6, 2015.
Mr. Spiegler is such a prolific letter writer the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review gave him a little tribute back in 2003. Google “Oren M. Spiegler” and you’ll get more hits than you know what to do with. Unfortunately, prolific is not a synonym for competent. Mr. Spiegler claims to be a Republican. In my critique of “Breathing more freely,” I cited reasons why I was “beginning to believe Mr. Spiegler is simply another Republican impersonator,” but he sealed the deal with “Greatest foreign policy debacle.” Subsequent letters provided more confirmation. The group of local Republican impersonators also includes Messrs. William A. Alexander, Arthur Brown, Edward J. Hum, Bill Ralston, and George Reese, all claiming to be disgruntled Republicans. While he has previously claimed to be a Republican, this appears to be the first time Mr. Spiegler claimed to be a registered Republican in a BCT letter. If true, Mr. Spiegler joins Mr. Hum in going the extra mile to further his impersonation of a Republican.
ALERT! Though I missed it by several months, Mr. Spiegler finally did the honorable thing and ended his charade and deregistered as a Republican.
You can find links to previous critiques of Spiegler letters I critiqued here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
The BCT has or had a limit of 12 letters per writer per year. In 2014, the BCT either ditched that limit or made a huge exception for Mr. Spiegler. By my count, the BCT published at least 25 Spiegler letters in 2014.
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“Kim Davis, Rowan County, Kentucky Clerk, draws an $80,000 annual salary despite refusing to do her job of issuing marriage licenses to all who are entitled to them, which much to her dismay, includes same-sex couples.”
[RWC] If you’re wondering why Mr. Spiegler didn’t mention Mrs. Davis’ party affiliation, it’s because she’s a Democrat.
While I sympathize with Mrs. Davis, it’s not like she marries the couples. All the Clerk does is verify a couple meets the state’s license requirements.
Who issues marriage licenses when Mrs. Davis is unavailable due to illness, travel, vacation, etc? Accommodation of a person’s religious beliefs is made all time. For example, at the federal level, “Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) prohibits federal agencies from discriminating against employees or applicants for employment because of their religious beliefs in hiring, firing and other terms and conditions of employment. Additionally, Title VII requires federal agencies to reasonably accommodate the religious beliefs or practices of employees or applicants unless doing so would impose an undue hardship upon the agency.”
I think putting Mrs. Davis in jail is excessive. Why is Mrs. Davis in jail when President Obama and sanctuary-city officials are not for refusing to follow immigration laws?
“Ms. Davis knows that she has no legal authority to disregard the decree of the United States Supreme Court, rather she cites that she has been commanded by God, that to issue the licenses would violate her strong religious tenets, this coming from a woman who is thrice-divorced.”
[RWC] You’ll find Mr. Spiegler has no problem when Mr. Obama refuses to enforce laws he doesn’t like. In the same letter he told readers he would no longer be a registered Republican, Mr. Spiegler opposed Republican efforts not to fund “President Obama’s Executive Order, which is intended to shield illegal immigrants from prosecution or deportation.” You may recall for years before he issued his EO, Mr. Obama told everyone the Constitution didn’t grant him the power to do what he did. Here is one example:
“With respect to the notion that I can just suspend deportations through executive order, that’s just not the case, because there are laws on the books that Congress has passed -- and I know that everybody here at Bell is studying hard so you know that we’ve got three branches of government. Congress passes the law. The executive branch’s job is to enforce and implement those laws. And then the judiciary has to interpret the laws.
“There are enough laws on the books by Congress that are very clear in terms of how we have to enforce our immigration system that for me to simply through executive order ignore those congressional mandates would not conform with my appropriate role as President.”
While they may exist, I found no Spiegler letters condemning so-called “sanctuary cities” during a quick search.
“We see once again the evil that can be perpetrated when one cloaks themselves in religion and the dangerous path we travel when individuals believe that they have the right to thumb their noses at legitimate authority because they know what is best for our society.”
[RWC] This means Mr. Spiegler would put conscientious objectors in jail.
Refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples is “evil?” Just a few months ago, Mrs. Davis would have been “evil” for doing what the Supreme Court says she must do today.
“Ms. Davis’ shenanigans mark a shameful episode in the life of our nation, causing she and her narrow-minded supporters to be the subjects of derision.”
[RWC] Hypocrite.
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