So Surprise, they rejected him

So our masters in Brussels have decided that Rocco Buttiglione is not suited to the job of Justice Commissioner. They may well be right in their judgement, I know very little about him, but based on the reasons given, the concept of liberty really has become warped. BBC

"This is just the latest confirmation of the lack of credibility Italy is subject to in the European institutions because of choices made by Berlusconi," said former Industry Minister Pierluigi Bersani, a member of the Democrats of the Left.

So its all Berlusconi’s fault, according to … surprise, his political opponents.

Sergio Lo Giudice, president of the Italian gay rights group Arcigay, said the vote showed the EU's strong commitment to human rights, including those of gay people.

As a cynic, I could add that the commitment to human rights extends only to members of those groups deemed “minority” by our betters. It’s a total disregard for our rights and liberties that makes the EU the monster it is.

The vote smacked of "fundamentalism if not obscurantism" because it called into "question the freedom of conscience and opinion of a Catholic commissioner, contesting the distinction he makes between morality and the law", the Italian prime minister added.

I get very worried by this, I am in complete agreement with Berlusconi, Europe’s foremost con artist. But hey, what he says is exactly true. Guardian

Last week Mr Buttiglione told MEPs: "I may think homosexuality is a sin, but this has no effect on politics unless I say homosexuality is a crime."

So there should be no argument right?

But Mr Cashman (Labour MEP) said Mr Buttiglione, a former Europe minister in Silvio Berlusconi's Italian cabinet, had put forward an amendment to delete non-discrimination on sexual grounds during the drawing up of the EU's charter of fundamental rights.

"We should not judge him by what he says but what he did and does."

Of course the whole point of these human rights legislation is to criminalise non PC thoughts, so Mr Buttiglione was perfectly correct in his action. Better still if he had tried to delete the charter from the treaty altogether In all this, I see the twisting of the concept of tolerance, a key word that we hear repeated constantly. Tolerance is apparently however, only to be extended one way. Tolerance of religious belief is out (except non Christian religions) but those who start witch hunts against people for their beliefs are allowed to call themselves tolerant. Leftists truly believe that they are better people than conservatives and therefore whatever they do is justified. That is why they scare me so much.