COMMENTARY AND OP-EDS
Washington Post Has No Clue Why the Supreme Court Exists
In Sunday's paper, the Washington Post has an article with the title, "Fewer See Balance in Court Decisions." The article is based on a poll conducted by the Post and ABC News. Its findings were that "about half the public thinks the Supreme Court is generally balanced in its opinions." [...]
Judge Overrules Right of Municipalities to Protect Against Illegal Immigration
Executive Summary:Judge Munley has ruled (AP: “Judge strikes down Hazleton’s illegal immigrant law,”) that local ordinances to protect munincipalities of bearing the cost of illegal immigration, like the one in Hazelton, PA, re “preempted by federal law.” This is flatly contrary to prior decisions of the Supreme Court. The driving [...]
60 Groups Demand Judiciary Cmte Do Its Job on Judges
The American Civil Rights Union is proud to be a signatory to this letter mentioned in the press release included below from the Committee for Justice and linked here (PDF document). Be sure to also read our own letter sent independently to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, "In Defense [...]
In Defense of Judge Southwick: An Open Letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee
With the Democrats in the Senate stalling on the consideration and confirmation of 19 nominees to the district court level - thus creating a "judicial emergency - and esp. with the malicious attempts to derail the confirmation of Judge Leslie Southwick to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth [...]
Three Noteworthy Cases on 9th Circuit Docket
The Honolulu Advertizer has picked up my latest Op-Ed. Here it is:Three noteworthy cases on 9th Circuit docketThe 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is proving itself once again to be a powerhouse among the circuits. And based on some of the cases that it will decide this year it might [...]
Bainbridge Council Acts Like 5-Year-Olds about Pledge
The Kitsap Sun ran a delightful, and also distressing, article on July 11 on the inability of the Bainbridge Island Council and Mayor to decide whether to say, or not say, the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of their meetings. Most readers might think that is not a difficult [...]
Mosque and State are Fine – Just Shut Down the Church and State
Investors Business Daily ran an editorial entitled, "Jihad in Schools," on July 9. It describes a program in a San Diego public school for setting aside 15 minutes a day for Somali Muslim students to pray at Carver Elementary School. And it has added Arabic to its teaching. And it [...]
Illegal Aliens Sue for $100 a Day for Jail Time
News Channel 5 in Nashville, TN, published an article on its website on 10 July about illegal aliens suing local officials for illegally arresting them. They are claiming $100 a day for their incarceration until they are thrown out of the US in their suit against the Maury County Sheriffs' [...]
THE DAILY BLADE: When A Patient's Rights Stop Where A Healthcare Provider's Rights Begin
The ACRU and former attorney general and ACRU Policy Board member Ed Meese are cited in a July 11 article at the Daily Blade: "When A Patient's Rights Stop Where A Healthcare Provider's Rights Begin."One correction though, as this is the second time a newspaper has gotten this wrong: The [...]
John Armor: It Came from Beyond the Senate: The Illegal Immigration Issue LIVES on
Executive Summary:An unlikely alliance between a talk radio host and a college professor, who got run down by an illegal alien, has sparked a turn-around for Tulsa, Oklahoma. From a sanctuary city it has become a watchful and wary city. And due to an extraordinary response by viewers, MSNBC has [...]
Ken Blackwell: The Supreme Court Giveth, the Supreme Court Taketh Away
The Supreme Court teeters on a knife's edge regarding lawsuits against faith expression in the public square. So, conservatives better redouble their efforts to restore a court faithful to our Founders' vision, or lose all that has been gained in recent decisions after the 2008 presidential sweepstakes.
Religious Rights of Students Affirmed in NJ & TX from Citizenlink.com
"A New Jersey school's decision to allow Christian students to enjoy the same free speech rights as other students could be the beginning of a nationwide trend to protect students' rights. Northern Highlands Regional High School had blocked a Christian club from participating in the Day of Truth, a day [...]
Jefferson and Madison Reminisce on the Meaning of the Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson, letter to Samuel Adams Wells, May 12, 1821:The Declaration of Independence... [is the] declaratory charter of our rights, and the rights of man.Thomas Jefferson, letter to John Adams, September 12, 1821:[T]he flames kindled on the 4 of July 1776, have spread over too much of the globe to [...]
An Open Letter to Senator Specter
Dear Senator Specter,I am writing to you as the Ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee. It’s useless to write to Chairman Patrick Leahy, because his views are the same as a minority of the Supreme Court Justices — whatever outcome in any case benefits the Democratic Party is fine with [...]
"Approval of Religious Expression Reveals False Dichotomy"
I just discovered that my most recent Op-Ed has been picked up by a local paper in Texas. My article - "Approval of Religious Expression Reveals False Dichotomy" - appeared in the Jacksboro Gazette-News and The Jack County Herald on June 12, 2007.
The Founders on the Drafting of the Declaration of Independence
Richard Henry Lee, Resolution in Congress, June 7, 1776:Resolved: That these colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states, that they are absolved of all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought [...]
Why We "Need" the Fairness Doctrine
A picture says a thousand words, they say. In this case, they're very right!(HT: NewsBusters)Let your congressman know that you oppose the so-called Fairness Doctrine. Tell him or her that you support the Free Speech Doctrine instead.
A Hero Gets Fired – and He Didn't Even Have to Shoot
With all of the debate over the now defunct illegal immigration bill in the Senate and the efforts of liberals to relaunch the so-called Fairness Doctrine - a clear assault on conservative speech on our nation's air waves - it is easy to lose focus on the many other battles [...]
Press Release: ACRU Applauds Another Step Towards a Colorblind Society
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Supreme Court just ruled on an affirmative action case involving a Seattle school district. The ACRU supports the challenge to the school district's race-based student assignment plan. In Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1, the school district argued its decision to [...]
Supreme Court's School Segregation Decision
Executive SummaryThe Seattle District case, decided 28 June by the Supreme Court, is unique in the way that the 5 Justice majority and the 4 Justice dissent attack each other for abusing the Court’s prior cases, essentially of intellectual dishonesty. The majority holds that assigning children to a school solely [...]