God and Man in Alabama
god and Man in Alabama Matt Labash suggests that official religious activities in Alabama— like organized school prayer—are appropriate because 96 percent of the state's population identify...
...At least one child was physically forced by a teacher to bow his head in devotion to Jesus...
...Wendy Kaminer Cambridge, ma Matt Labash performed an important service to constitutional democracy by reporting on the political and legal confusion being sown by the ACLU and the judges' usurpation of Alabamians' civil rights to religious expression, including public recognition of the Ten Commandments...
...The fact is, every one of the 50 state constitutions guarantees religious and other fundamental civil rights, sometimes more expansively than the federal Constitution as interpreted by national courts...
...One way is to pass what Labash called "federalism-shield" legislation, a concept pioneered by the Tricentennial Foundation and promoted by Gary Bauer of the Family Research Council and a growing coalition of constitutional experts and spokesmen for major religious groups...
...It can enact laws compelling the courts created by Congress to follow the true, constitutional meaning of religious liberty...
...As he points out, the First Amendment says, "Congress shall make no law...
...Newspapers love McCain-Feingold "reforms" that further stifle the voice of the people...
...The American people ratified it that way in order to make sure the national government could not interfere with the power of the people of each state to decide for themselves how to protect religious liberties and other civil rights...
...It's been decades since FDR's Congress restored constitutional democracy to arrogant judges by reminding them of how much power the people's representatives have been granted to control the judiciary...
...Others write their own bills, hoping to impress constituents...
...The Herring children have been tormented by classmates and teachers because of their religion...
...Indeed, should Congress shirk its duty under its oath of office to restore the constitutional rights of the people of Alabama and the other states, it would become complicit in the judicial subversion of both religious liberty and self-government...
...Albert H. Bienstock Camp Hill, PA...
...Another was required to write an essay on "Why Jesus Loves Me" as a punishment for disrupting class...
...The long-sought answer to the confusion is simple: Congress can reassert its coordinate power to declare the Constitution's meaning...
...But the Bill of Rights is meant to prevent the tyranny of the majority and protect the rights of trou-blemakers—and religious dissidents...
...Whenever individual spending is restricted, newspapers gain even more influence through editorials and deciding what's fit to print...
...But, just to be safe, his so-called reform would not take effect until after Dec...
...The "federalism-shield" concept revives the authority of Congress, as a co-equal branch, to interpret the Constitution along with the judiciary...
...State endorsement of majoritarian religious practices has not exactly fostered tolerance in Alabama or religious freedom, which the ACLU seeks to protect...
...god and Man in Alabama Matt Labash suggests that official religious activities in Alabama— like organized school prayer—are appropriate because 96 percent of the state's population identify themselves as Christians ("God and Man in Alabama," March 2...
...31, 1998—when he hopes to have been reelected for his last term...
...At least one state has meaningful campaign-finance reform—disclosure coupled with term limits—instead of arbitrary, "feelgood" spending limitations (Jan Witold Baran and Allison R. Hayward, "Do It Virginia's Way," Feb...
...Consider the Alabama school-prayer case that Labash chose not to mention, Herring v. Key...
...But that's precisely wrong...
...Virginia is on the right track...
...If the Alabama schools worried less about promoting love of Jesus (the job of parents and churches) and more about teaching, then their students might understand this simple truth: Prohibitions on establishing religion are essential to protecting free exercise...
...The plaintiffs are four Jewish children, three of whom have been required to attend Christian sermons and literally forced to pray...
...So they support McCain-Feingold, which actually enhances their built-in advantages by limiting spending on behalf of challengers...
...Reform is a hot issue, so some incumbents want to get on the bandwagon without hurting themselves...
...Thus, if the nation's judges persist in usurping the civil right of state citizens to recognize religious faith in official settings, Congress must defend that right...
...Advocates of state-sponsored sectarianism often say that the First Amendment guarantees freedom of, not freedom from, religion...
...The ACLU's claim that civil liberties would be unprotected if the national courts did not force their version of the First Amendment on citizens of the states is simply untrue...
...The best reform plan can be summed up in eight words: No cash, no foreign contributions, full disclosure immediately...
...Only a few troublemakers seem to mind...
...Consider Pennsylvania's Bill Gooding, who, if re-elected, will have been in the House for over 25 years...
...Real reform, as explained by Baran and Hayward, would encompass disclosure and term limits...
...During the congressional recess in August he promoted a bill that would, among other phony "reforms," eliminate PAC contributions but not restrict other "special interests...
...Dennis Teti Tricentennial Foundation for America Washington, DC Follow Virginia's Lead Wonderful...
...Your freedom from my religion is precisely what the founders intended to protect...
Vol. 3 • March 1998 • No. 26
