YouTubeXLinkedInFacebookTelegramTelegramRumbleRumbleInstagram

Texas Senate's Approval of Religious Expression Reveals False Dichotomy

By |2023-05-20T09:39:11-04:00May 25th, 2007|

Sometimes it takes good news to reveal how bad things really are.

A headline yesterday in the Dallas Morning News stated plainly, “Senate Approves Religious Expression Measure,” referring to the Texas Senate. Yet, it is peculiar: hadn’t the First Amendment of the United States – and virtually every state constitution, as well – secured our right to the free exercise of our religions, as well as the expression of our beliefs (which “free exercise” necessarily entails”)?

The first two paragraphs reveal the deeper story here:

Texas students’ religious viewpoints in class assignments would be treated the same as secular expression under legislation approved by […]

Double Standards — A Correction

By |2023-05-20T09:39:11-04:00May 24th, 2007|

In the blog I posted on double standards being used to assess the job-worthiness of Alberto Gonzales, on the one hand, and Janet Reno, on the other, I said that the assault on the Branch Davidian compound during Ms. Reno’s tenure resulted in 58 deaths. That is incorrect. According to Wikpedia and other sources, it resulted in 82 deaths. At least 17 of those killed were children.

I apologize for the error. I am relieved, however, that the correct figure does not muddle, but instead re-inforces, the point of the story.

This Could Give Double Standards a Bad Name

By |2023-05-20T09:39:11-04:00May 24th, 2007|

Congress is preparing to take a vote of “no confidence” in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. I have previously written about the all but complete disconnect between this sort of political theater and the Constitution, which provides for nothing of the kind. In France, sure. Here……

But I digress. The principal “charges” against the Attorney General are that he has given incomplete, inconsistent and misleading information about the reasons for firing eight United States Attorneys. Let’s assume for the moment (without concluding) that this is true. Let’s also concede that the Attorney General has not sparked what could be called enthusiasm […]

Thomas Sowell Speaks Up on Immigration

By |2023-05-20T09:39:11-04:00May 24th, 2007|

The ACRU does not lobby for or against pending legislation. This does not prevent us from joining an important national debate, however, by bringing readers the views of others (and sometimes our own) on issues relevant to the discussion. Many of these issues, if not all of them, long pre-existed the introduction of the immigration bill presently before Congress.

Below, I re-produce in full a piece by the brilliant Thomas Sowell. For full disclosure purposes, I should add that I was a teaching assistant for Professor Sowell a mere 38 years ago, when he had a dank basement office in the Economics Department of Cornell […]

Let the Voters Decide—For a Day, Anyway

By |2023-05-20T09:39:12-04:00May 22nd, 2007|

Many readers will remember that Farmers Branch, Texas, a Dallas suburb, recently enacted an ordinance to the effect that landlords may not rent to illegal immigrants. The ordinance went to a vote after a pro-illegal immigrant group waged a vigorous campaign to, as they put it, “Let the Voters Decide.” The voters promplty did so. By a margin of 68% to 32%, they decided to adopt the ordinance.

Without missing a beat, it then became time to “Let the Court Decide,” a strategy the previously pro-vote group has now pursued. Yesterday they obtained, from a federal judge appointed by President Clinton, a preliminary injunction barring enforcement […]

The Farmers Branch Absurdity

By |2023-05-20T09:39:12-04:00May 22nd, 2007|

Farmers Branch, a small Texas town near Dallas, passed an ordinance imposing penalties on landlords who might rent their apartments to illegal aliens. The act included a requirement that the voters must approve it. In an exceptional turnout last Saturday, the voters did approve, 68% to 32%.

The ACLU and various parties took the town to court, claiming that the ordinance was unconstitutional. The court then ruled that the councilmen and residents of Farmers Branch are too stupid to govern themselves, substituted its judgment for theirs, and struck the ordinance as unconstitutional.

No, that’s not the stated reason for the decision of US District Judge […]

There Is No Such Thing As A "National ID Card"

By |2023-05-20T09:39:12-04:00May 22nd, 2007|

Below is a description of the provisions of what is inaccurately being called the National ID Act. These are minimum standards which all states are required to follow, as a matter of national security and illegal immigration. All states are free to have whatever requirements they choose, above and beyond these minimums.

The “Real ID Act of 2005” was actually passed as Section B of the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief, 2005. It repealed a prior law that sought consultation between federal agencies and the states, to set standards for issuance of Drivers Licenses […]

Is This Parliament?

By |2023-05-20T09:39:13-04:00May 21st, 2007|

The Senate is poised to take what is being called a “no confidence vote” on Attorney General Gonzales. The Senate Majority Leader appears to be unaware that this maneuver is at best constitutionally problematic, since while no confidence votes are all well and good in parliamentary systems, they have no place in our federal system. The Constitution provides for the Senate to advise and consent at the time of the Attorney General’s nomination, but nothing more. The only constitutionally-designated role for the legislature after that is impeachment. So the “no-confidence vote” is exactly what it has been called — a political stunt — and probably […]

Steyn: "America, Z Beautiful"

By |2023-05-20T09:39:13-04:00May 21st, 2007|

Columnist Mark Steyn has a must-read Op-Ed at the New York Sun today concerning illegal immigration. As he points out, sponsors of the recent accord between the White House and the Senate don’t like the word “amnesty” any more than the deal’s critics do. Rather, Steyn argues, we should call it “zamnesty.” As he writes:

That’s why the [proposed Z-1, Z-2, and Z-3] visa starts with the letter that’s furthest away from the one “amnesty” begins with. “Z” stands for zellout …no, hang on, zurrender or Zapatista, or some other word way up the other end of the alphabet from “amnesty”. But the […]

Sound Off on the Immigration Reform Deal

By |2023-05-20T09:39:13-04:00May 20th, 2007|

Wall Street, or at least the Wall Street Journal, seems quite satisfied with the immigration deal brokered late last week between the White House and the Senate. Said the opinion editors of the esteemed business journal, it “looks like the best chance in years to balance border security with human and economic realities.” In the article, “Immigration Opening: The Bush-Kennedy Proposal’s Vices and Virtues,” the editors look favorably upon the smooth glide path to legal status provided for the 12 million undocumented aliens living in the U.S., thinking that good for the American economy. However, the Wall Street Journal looks less favorably […]

Go to Top