I have written previously (here) on how both Republicans and Democrats, including President Obama (here), have continued to embrace faith-based politics. This week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) added her own promise of pious policies -stating that she actively tries to legislate public policies “in keeping with the values [of Jesus Christ] . . . “The Word made Flesh.”
Continue reading “Word To Your Speaker: Pelosi Proclaims Her Commitment to Faith-Based Politics”
Category: Constitutional Law
While the Catholic Church may be criticized for covering up crimes by priests and resisting efforts to discipline offenders, it seems to waste to time with errant nuns. Sister Margaret McBride has been excommunicated for the offense of approving an abortion to protect the life of a mother as a senior administrator of St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix. There does not even appear to be any room for mitigating circumstances in such a case. Bishop Thomas Olmstead (left) immediately excommunicated McBride.
Continue reading “Nun Excommunicated After Supporting Abortion To Protect Life of Mother”
A 58-year-old British transsexual identified only as “C” lost a unique claim in England when Judge David Bean ruled that the state-funded health service’s refusal to pay for a breast enlargement was not a violation of her human rights.
Continue reading “English Court Rules Breast Enlargement Not a Human Right”
There is a growing controversy in Illinois where School District 113 has blocked the Township High School ‘s Girls Varsity Basketball Team from traveling to Arizona in December due to the passage of that state’s controversial immigration law. I was asked to consider the argument of the District that it was compelled to bar such travel as a constitutional matter. While I respect (and share) the concerns of the Board over this law, I do not believe the trip is barred as a matter of constitutional law. Given the hard work of these girls in achieving such a honor, I believe the board should reconsider its decision if they make the championship. While there remain legitimate objections to the law, I do not believe that this bar on travel is compelled as a legal matter.
Continue reading “Illinois School Scraps Girl Varsity Basketball Team’s Visit To Arizona”
Hinds Community College in Mississippi is receiving some unwanted attention due to a controversy involving the discipline of Isaac Rosenbloom, 30, for using a single foul word in the presence of a teacher after a speech class.
Continue reading “Mississippi School Disciplines Student For Using Foul Word After Speech Class”
Some of us have long complained that confirmation hearings have become a rather bad joke (here) — carefully choreographed events devoid of substance. While many of us thought it could not positively become more content-free, it has. The director of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum has announced that the library cannot possibly turn over the prior writings of nominee Elena Kagan from her prior government service in time for the June 28, 2010 hearings. Rather than move the date, the Senate Judiciary Committee and White House appear intent on holding a hearing without the burden of knowledge of Kagan’s prior writings. Given her wafer-thin record of writing as an academic, that will guarantee a confirmation hearing that makes Dancing With the Stars looks like a tenure review meeting.
Iranian lesbian activist Kiana Firouz has released a breakthrough film at risk to her own life — detailing her struggle as a lesbian in Iran. She is now fighting for asylum in England and the world’s community should be heard in support of the petition.
There is an interesting ruling out of Connecticut where the Supreme Court has issued a rare ruling barring a candidate from running for Attorney General of the state. Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz will be taken off the ballot because she lacks the minimum ten years of legal experience under state law.
Continue reading “Connecticut Supreme Court Removes Secretary of State From Ballot for Attorney General For Lack of Legal Experience”
The U.S. Supreme Court has given the federal government sweeping new authority to hold people indefinitely — even after the completion of their sentences — if they find the individuals to be “sexually dangerous.” Notably, it is a reversal of the nation’s most conservative court of appeals — the Fourth Circuit — which ruled that Congress could not impose such an open-ended denial of liberty. Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan argued for such authority, here. In the decision below written by Justice Stephen Breyer in United States v. Comstock, only two conservative justices dissented: Thomas and Scalia.
Continue reading “Supreme Court Rules Government Can Hold Citizens Indefinitely If They Are Deemed Sexually Dangerous”
Israeli authorities barred leading American intellectual Noam Chomsky entry into Israeli-controlled territory. Chomsky is a critic of Israeli policies and recently Israel has been denying entry to such critics, including United Nations officials, here..
Liberal Catholics are condemning the decision of a Catholic school to bar a girl from enrollment because her parents are lesbians. The eight-year-old was originally admitted but her acceptance was rescinded by the St. Paul Elementary School in Hingham, Massachusetts.
Continue reading “Heather Has Two Mommies . . . And No School: Catholic School Bars Entry to Girl Because Her Parents Are Lesbians”
Only a month after the Supreme Court ruled that a 7-foot-tall metal cross could remain as the Mojave Desert War Memorial, it has been stolen. The 75-year-old war memorial disappeared overnight from the National Park Service site.
Continue reading “Thieves Steal Cross That Was The Subject of Recent Supreme Court Ruling”
Below is today’s USA Today column on the confirmation process. This is one of two columns today (the other column ran in the L.A. Times) on the Kagan nomination.
Continue reading “The Confirmation Process: No Way To Select The Judicial MVP”
We have been following the lawsuit (now dropped) against a writer in England by the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) for his criticism of their profession. Now, Samsung is suing a columnist for making from of its executives, who have been involved in a series of criminal cases and controversies. Michael Breen with the Korea Times is being sued for defamation for a parody by the electronic giant. The company is pursuing both civil and criminal charges against Breen — a move that seems to struggle to confirm the arrogance and heavy-handedness alleged in the column.
President Barack Obama said he wanted to honor the legacy of Associate Justice John Paul Stevens with his nominee. If so, he has chosen to honor it in the breach with a nominee who is likely to dismantle a significant part of Stevens’ legacy. As with Justice Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama has decided to nominate someone who is demonstrably more conservative than the person she is replacing on some issues –potentially moving the Court to the right. I discussed on the nomination on this segment of Countdown.