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August 24, 2007
"God's Warriors": The Right's "Supreme Vision"
In her series "God's Warrirors," CNN's Christiane Amanpour visited Liberty University where she learned that, though greatly pleased with the confirmations of Justices Roberts and Alito, they are training the "next generation of pit bulls" to "keep fighting at the Supreme Court until we have a new day. We never ever, ever give up."
Transcript below the jump:
AMANPOUR: And so the courts became the new battleground over the unborn. But year after year, the religious right lost every Supreme Court decision on abortion. Falwell and others were determined to reverse that, using their political clout to make sure new justices...
SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (R-PA), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Do you solemnly swear...
AMANPOUR: ...passed the Christian conservative abortion litmus test. The two men president George Bush nominated to the Supreme Court, Chief Justice John Roberts...
GEORGE BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I had a cup of coffee with the nominee.
AMANPOUR: ...and Justice Samuel Alito.
SAMUEL ALITO: I, Samuel A. Alito, Jr. do solemnly swear...
AMANPOUR: ...met their test.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. Supreme Court today handed a major victory to abortion rights opponents.
AMANPOUR: A month before Falwell died, the Supreme Court, on a 5- 4 vote, did put an end to one practice called partial birth abortion. Justice Alito became the decisive fifth vote.
FALWELL: That is the culmination, for me, of about 35 years of work.
AMANPOUR: A welcome victory for Jerry Falwell, but not yet enough.
FALWELL: I don't think we have five votes on "Roe v. Wade". I think we are probably one or two votes short.
AMANPOUR: As we talked that last week of his life, Falwell seemed to recognize that his battle to end all abortions would have to be won by the next generation of "God's Warriors".
FALWELL: My children are more likely to see this victory won than I am. I think we're 50 years away. We've got to just stay with it, stay with it, stay with it and never give up.
UNIDENTIFIED WORSHIPERS (SINGING): Praise God for all blessings (INAUDIBLE)...
AMANPOUR: If this graduation sounds like a religious ceremony, in a way it is.
UNIDENTIFIED WORSHIPERS (SINGING): Hear me, Lord.
AMANPOUR: This is the first class of lawyers to emerge from Liberty University's new law school.
UNIDENTIFIED WORSHIPERS (SINGING): Amen.
AMANPOUR: It was Jerry Falwell's final creation -- a law school where the Ten Commandments are found carved outside these classroom doors.
MATTHEW STAVER, DEAN, LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW: This is our Supreme Courtroom. It's modeled after the United States Supreme Court.
AMANPOUR: Nine chairs for nine justices -- a classroom that's meant to be a clone.
(on camera): And, obviously, it's no accident, because you want to change what the Supreme Court has ruled on.
STAVER: We do. We say that the Supreme Courtroom reflects our supreme vision to restore the rule of law.
AMANPOUR (voice-over): Mathew Staver is dean of the law school -- a minister who became a lawyer because of abortion. He says no such right is written into the constitution.
STAVER: That doesn't sound like a rule of law to me. That sounds like somebody making their own ideology under the guise of the rule of law.
Please be seated.
AMANPOUR: It is Staver whose training what the late Jerry Falwell called his next generation of pit bulls.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: May it please the court. AMANPOUR (on camera): What are the pit bulls to do?
STAVER: Well, the pit bulls, according to Dr. Falwell, and, really, what our vision is, is to raise a new generation of people that understand the rule of law, that are taught that from our Christian traditions and world view.
AMANPOUR (voice-over): Staver does more than mold minds. He also runs Liberty Counsel -- a legal group which takes its fight over religious freedom into the courts all over the country. Twice he has argued before the real Supreme Court...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Consider adoption. We would love to adopt your little baby.
AMANPOUR: ...the first time against restrictions on picketing at abortion clinics.
Staver's words that day...
STAVER: Abortion speech or speech about abortion lies at the very core of the first amendment.
AMANPOUR: The last time on behalf of the laws of God.
STAVER: This is the United States Supreme Court when I argued the Ten Commandments case out of Kentucky.
AMANPOUR: At issue -- the public display of the Ten Commandments inside a county courthouse. Staver lost in a 5-4 ruling.
But there's nothing in the bible that would say to Staver thou shalt not litigate again. And so, way down on the Suwannee River, Dixie County, Florida has become the dean's new battleground over the Ten Commandments.
This six-ton granite monument carved by the local gravestone salesman sits on the courthouse steps. It is a clear example of what the Supreme Court has disallowed -- a standalone monument on government property with an obvious religious message -- love God and keep his commandments.
TOBY DICKEY, LOCAL RESIDENT: Maybe some of the things in the constitution need to be changed, such as this right here, you know?
I'm not an authority on law or nothing like that. But I know for a fact that the people in this county right here are in favor of it.
AMANPOUR: This time Staver expects to win.
Why?
STAVER: There is absolutely no question that the court has a different makeup and will likely come to a different decision.
...
AMANPOUR (voice-over): These days, they may find a Supreme Court more sympathetic to conservative religious concerns like their own. In its first full year with Chief Justice John Roberts and his newest colleague, Samuel Alito, the Court has tilted noticeably to the right.
STAVER: It's a new court, a new ballgame, a new outcome not only in public expressions of religion, but in many other areas, as well.
AMANPOUR: Yet all the changes have come in close 5-4 decisions. And so it's clear that whoever wins the 2008 presidential election could sway the court's direction one way or the other for years to come. TOOBIN: You know, the two biggest liberals on the court are John Paul Stevens, who is 87-years-old, and Ruth Bader Ginsberg, who is 75- years-old. If the two of them were replaced by justices similar to Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito, the religious right will have won in the Supreme Court and the law will be transformed beyond recognition.
AMANPOUR: So what will that mean to America?
TOOBIN: You're going to have abortion illegal in large parts of the country. You're going to have schools allowing a lot more religious observance within them.
AMANPOUR (voice-over): That is music to Matt Staver's ears and division of America that he and his students would embrace -- the answer to their prayers.
STAVER: There's no question we'll keep fighting at the Supreme Court until we have a new day. We never ever, ever give up.
Posted by Kyle at 5:08 PM | Permalink
The Devil Went Down to Uganda
Earlier this month, an organization known as the Sexual Minorities Groups in Uganda held a press conference pleading for tolerance and an end to government harassment which was quickly met by right-wing protests:
The issue came to the fore in Uganda this month when an advocacy group, the Sexual Minorities Groups in Uganda, took the unprecedented step of holding a news conference to demand recognition. Even so, most hid their faces behind masks.
That prompted demonstrators from the Inter-faith Coalition of church groups to rally in Kampala demanding a crackdown. They waved placards like "Arrest all homos" and railed against a U.S. newspaper intern who had written on homosexuals in Uganda.
As Human Rights Watch explained:
Homosexual acts are criminalized in Uganda under a sodomy law inherited from British colonial times, although punishments were substantially strengthened in 1990. Section 140 of the criminal code punishes “carnal knowledge against the order of nature” – interpreted to include consensual same sex relationships- with a maximum of life imprisonment.
“For years President Museveni’s government has drummed up homophobia and denied the basic rights of LGBT people for his own political advantage,” said Juliana Cano Nieto, researcher in the LGBT rights program at Human Rights Watch. “If lesbians and gays can be punished simply for speaking up for their rights, the freedoms of all Ugandans are endangered.”
Of course, the Right here at home loves it, with Janice Crouse of the Beverly LaHaye Institute, hailing the Ugandan protestors for standing up when “the Devil is attacking them”:
I thank the Lord that we have people in Uganda who are devoted Christians who are willing to go out there at the beginning, at the outset, to say “you’re not going to change our culture, you’re not going to have influence here. We stand up for what is right, what is legal, and what is part of the culture of Uganda.”
Posted by Kyle at 3:23 PM | Permalink
One Of These Things Is Not Like the Others
A new study by the Barna Group shows that "Evangelical Christians' priorities for change in government and society deviate from average Americans' priorities more than any other subgroup ... 'Overall, evangelical Christians stood out as the segment that holds views that are most dissimilar from the typical perspective of Americans,' the Barna Group said. 'They were at least 10 percentage points different than the national average in relation to eight of the 11 issues tested' and were 'significantly different on 10 of the 11 dimensions.'"
Posted by Kyle at 2:51 PM | Permalink
Fidelis Demands Landrieu Denounce Jindal Ad
Fidelis calls on Sen. Mary Landrieu to denounce the "anti-Catholic smear ad produced by the Democratic Party of Louisiana" against Bobby Jindal saying it "insinuates that Bobby Jindal, a Catholic Republican candidate for Governor, is somehow prejudiced against Protestants" and employs "baseless attacks pitting Catholics against Protestants recalls a dark chapter in our nation’s history when such bigotry was considered acceptable.” See the ad here.
Posted by Kyle at 1:51 PM | Permalink
To The End, Falwell Stood "Right By" His 9/11 Comments
Before his death, Jerry Falwell was interviewed by CNN's Christiane Amanpour for her series "God's Warrirors" and stated that, in the next election, national security was more important than social issues, attacked the Democrats, and stood by his post-9/11 comments blaming "the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians ... the ACLU, People For the American Way" for the attacks.
Transcript below the jump.
AMANPOUR: In other words, all sorts of compromise is possible in a presidential season when none among the current field of Republican candidates has excited the conservative Christian base of the party. Falwell even told me the 2008 Republican presidential nominee could meet quite a different standard than usual.
(on camera): You basically said that for you, in this next election, correct me if I'm wrong...
FALWELL: It's security.
AMANPOUR: It's security...
FALWELL: Oh, yes.
AMANPOUR: ...rather than the social issues that you care so deeply about.
FALWELL: Well, certainly, we'd love to get, in one package, a man, a woman, who is strong on security and right on the social issues. We've got to find the person closest to where we are.
SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: I believe those prayers. Keep them coming.
AMANPOUR: He dismissed Democrats like Senators Clinton and Obama.
FALWELL: That's like the story, Chelsea Clinton interviewing some Marines returning from Iraq.
And she asked one of them the question -- what do you fear most?
And he, after a thought, said, "Osama, Obama and your mama."
Well, I'm not saying that really happened, but that's how I feel.
AMANPOUR (on camera): That's how you feel?
FALWELL: That's right.
AMANPOUR (voice-over): And Falwell continued to connect liberal beliefs to Islamic terrorism, such as blaming the attacks of September 11th on the prevalence of abortion in America.
(on camera): You know, you caused a huge amount of controversy after 9/11 when you basically said that the Lord was removing his protection from America.
FALWELL: I still believe that. I believe that a country that is...
AMANPOUR: And that America probably deserved it.
FALWELL: Here's what I said, what -- no. I said that the people we have no are responsible must take the blame for it.
AMANPOUR: You did...
FALWELL: We were killing (INAUDIBLE)...
AMANPOUR: ...but you went on to say what I've just said.
FALWELL: We're killing a million babies a year in this country by abortion. But I was saying then and I'm saying now, that if we, in fact, change all the rules on which this Judeo-Christian nation was built, we cannot expect the Lord to put his shield of protection around us as he has in the past.
AMANPOUR: So you still stand by that?
FALWELL: I stand right by that.
Posted by Kyle at 12:59 PM | Permalink
August 23, 2007
Washington Times Outlet Claims Congressmen Secretly Fear Muslim Rep
According to a (subscriber’s-only) article in Insight, the sensationalist newsweekly put out by the right-wing Washington Times, “both Democratic and Republican” members of Congress, unnamed in the story, “have been worried” that Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota) “would become the strongest advocate of extreme Islam in Congress.”
"He is a pleasant man, but his advocacy of the Saudi agenda is very worrisome," a senior House aide said. "This feeling represents numerous Democrats."
Ellison, the first Muslim in Congress, has been a target of the far Right since his election last November. Talk show host Dennis Prager said he “should not be allowed” to pose with Koran after his swearing in, a sentiment echoed by self-described “defender of religious freedom” Jay Sekulow, and former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore—who was removed from the bench for refusing an order to move a two-ton Ten Commandments monument from his courthouse—wrote that Muslims like Ellison are not fit for office. Rep. Virgil Goode (R-Virginia) warned his constituents that “if American citizens don’t wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran.” Meanwhile, other right-wing commentators have attempted to link Ellison to American Muslim groups they purport to be somehow associated with terrorism.
Insight, citing anonymous “congressional sources,” claims that “no Democrat has gone public in fear of a Saudi-financed Muslim backlash, particularly by Ellison's biggest supporter, the Council on American-Islamic Relations.”
As an example of Ellison’s supposed “close ties to Islamic fundamentalists,” the Insight article refers to a visit by Ellison and other members of Congress to Iraq, during which he met with U.S. military leaders and Iraqi leaders seeking his help in “countering al-Qaeda's vision of Islam.” USA Today noted that Ellison was “already helping a State Department outreach effort aimed at improving the image of the U.S. in the Muslim world.” In Insight’s telling, those details get lost and the trip takes a menacing aspect:
Ellison's close ties to Islamic fundamentalists have sparked greater concern. In late July, Ellison toured Iraq and met Sunni clerics in Ramadi who sought his help in improving Islam's image in the United States. Ramadi has been regarded as being heavily influenced by al Qaeda.
"They were very upset and concerned that al Qaeda is misrepresenting Islam," Ellison said on July 30. "And they were talking to me about what I can possibly do to work with them to give a clearer, more accurate picture of what Islam is all about."
Posted by Ezra at 4:31 PM | Permalink
Bauer Clarifies for Thompson
Last week, perpetual presidential water-tester Fred Thompson was asked by CNN if he would “actively push a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage?" His answer was pretty clear:
Yes, yes, I think that with regard to gay marriage you have a full-faith-and-credit issue. I don't think one state ought to be able to pass a law requiring gay marriage, or allowing gay marriage, and have another state be required to follow along, under full faith and credit. There's some exceptions and exemptions for that.
Shortly thereafter, he issued a “clarification”:
In an interview with CNN today, former Senator Fred Thompson’s position on constitutional amendments concerning gay marriage was unclear.Thompson believes that states should be able to adopt their own laws on marriage consistent with the views of their citizens.
…
Fred Thompson does not support a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.
So does Thompson support or oppose this proposed constitutional amendment? Nobody really seems to know – except, of course, Gary Bauer:
American Values president Gary Bauer believes Thompson's campaign fumbled the ball, and he calls the flap the "growing pains" of a campaign that is trying to get started."A number of us have met privately with Senator Thompson, and he's made it absolutely clear that he opposes same-sex marriage," says Bauer. During that conversation, Bauer shares, the former senator voluntarily explained that while he is a federalist -- that is, he favors states making most of the important decisions affecting them -- he also realizes there are some things that cannot be left to the states.
"And [he said] one of those is marriage," says the American Values president. "[He said that] marriage, if it's going to be between a man and a woman, has to be between a man and a woman in every state." Bauer also points out that when Thompson served in the U.S. Senate, he voted for the Defense of Marriage Act.
…
Bauer expects "further clarification" from Team Thompson in the next few days that will make if "absolutely clear that [Thompson] does support a federal marriage amendment." And although he acknowledges that such legislation will be almost impossible to pass, Bauer believes the pro-family movement will want to support a candidate who favors such an amendment.
Posted by Kyle at 2:59 PM | Permalink
Minutemen Booted From Their Hotel
The Holiday Inn decided the Illinois Minuteman Project was no longer welcome, leading the organization's director to complain: "I'm disturbed by the whole thing. We're not bringing in a lunatic. We're bringing in a sheriff."
Posted by Kyle at 2:36 PM | Permalink
Vision America Still Desperate for Money
From the latest Rick Scarborough Report: "I need your help. As the summer draws to a close we have depleted our resources and are showing a shortfall for the first time in months. God has blessed us because of the faithfulness of so many of you who read this report, pray for us regularly, and give, but we are experiencing the same difficulties many ministries face during the summer and I have decided to ask my friends to once again help us ... Please consider joining our family of regular contributors. I am praying that 100 people who will open this Report today, will click here and sign up to give $10.00 per month by credit card and become one of our Vision America Action Patriot Partners. Please be one of the 100."
Posted by Kyle at 10:14 AM | Permalink
August 22, 2007
Right Anticipates 2008 Campaign on Supreme Court
While most coverage of the 2008 presidential race is focused on political sparring between candidates within each party, there are already some hints of what shape the general election will take. The Committee for Justice, a group formed to support Bush’s right-wing judicial nominees, takes as a given that Sen. Hillary Clinton will win the Democratic nomination, and warns that the Supreme Court may be the “most important reason” to oppose her:
This might be a good time to remind people of one of the main reasons why conservatives and libertarians need to come together and defeat Senator Clinton next fall: The future of the Supreme Court. Clinton, who voted against Roberts and voted to filibuster Alito, will, at best (from a constitutionalist’s point of view), have the opportunity to replace one or more of the activists on the Court with a younger activist, and at worst will have a chance to replace someone who adheres to the Constitution with someone who would impose left-wing policies via judicial fiat.
Meanwhile, the Republican National Committee is already raising money around the courts:
President Bush has appointed jurists who faithfully and impartially interpret the law and do not legislate from the bench. If a liberal Democrat like Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama is elected President, our entire judicial system could swing dangerously to the left, causing a flood of bad decisions by liberal activist judges.
Posted by Ezra at 5:31 PM | Permalink
Anecdotal Evidence
Presidential candidate Mitt Romney has joined the chorus of right-wing activists holding up a crime in Newark, New Jersey as cause for an anti-immigrant crackdown. Romney campaign is running radio ads in Iowa and New Hampshire attacking “sanctuary cities” that “become magnets that encourage illegal immigration and undermine secure borders.” The ads also mention New York City, in an indirect attack on fellow candidate and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who responded with his own attack accusing Romney of being soft on immigrants. The Wall Street Journal’s right-wing editorial page noted that their “attempt to one-up each other's anti-immigration rhetoric” makes it seem that they’re running “for the job of vacation replacement for Lou Dobbs” rather than president of the United States, and cited a “record drop in violent crime during the Giuliani years, which coincided with an increase in immigrants to the city.”
But while these candidates use one tragic anecdote to rally anti-immigrant sentiment, they’re ignoring another anecdote: the arrest and deportation of Elvira Arellano, who had left the sanctuary of a church to raise awareness of undocumented parents, like her, of children who are U.S. citizens. Last year, groups like “Mothers Against Illegal Immigration” and the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps rallied for Arellano’s deportation and separation from her 7-year-old son, and now that that has occurred, anti-immigrant activists—those that Romney and Giuliani hope to curry favor with—are well pleased.
Federation for American Immigration Reform spokeswoman Joyce Mucci cried “thank goodness” at the deportation, which she said was “long overdue.” “"Unfortunately parents make bad choices that impact their children -- and this is not any different,” Mucci said. Craig Roberts Smith called Arellano a “child abuser of the worst kind” for her purported “[n]eglect and abandonment” in the form of being deported. Christopher Orlet, writing in the American Spectator, mocked Arellano as an attention-seeker exploiting her “anchor baby” for the cameras, adding, “Elvira Arellano is back in Mexico, but if history is any indicator, she will soon be strapping on her waders and fording the Rio Grande.”
Posted by Ezra at 5:27 PM | Permalink
Sons of the Father
In an email, the Virigina Family Foundation and Pastors for Family Values say they are "pleased to announce that Pastor Jonathan Falwell, son of Reverend Jerry Falwell and newly installed senior pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church, will be the keynote luncheon speaker at our first Pastors Family Issues Summit, to be held Tuesday, September 11, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. in Richmond." Flyer here. [PDF]
Posted by Kyle at 4:28 PM | Permalink
How Do You Solve a Problem at Ave Maria?
The National Law Journal reports that the "decision to move Michigan's Ave Maria School of Law to Florida has touched off a firestorm of controversy" and that "three professors have resigned, including one last week. Also, two have taken leaves of absence, and one has been suspended."
Posted by Kyle at 4:23 PM | Permalink
Dobson’s Low Profile Hides Focus on the States
Following the rejection of the Right’s political agenda in the last election, there have been a number of news articles written in recent months about a potential split emerging within the evangelical political community, with newer leaders pushing to incorporate issues such as the environment and poverty into the agenda, while old-school leaders seek to quash any efforts to dilute their traditional anti-choice, anti-gay message.
From this split, some new right-wing leaders appear to be emerging, such as Richard Land who seems to be attempting to position himself as the Right’s new powerbroker, seemingly at the expense of James Dobson. For his part, Dobson has been keeping something of a low profile, perhaps chastened a bit by the controversy he generated when he suggested that presidential hopeful Fred Thompson was not a Christian.
Other than appearing from time to time to declare that he won’t support or vote for Rudy Giuliani or John McCain, Dobson has been relatively quiet as of late – but that doesn’t mean that his organization, Focus on the Family, has become any less influential or involved in politics, especially at the state level. Just in the last two days, it has been reported that FOF has hooked up with a new “state policy council” in Washington and is affiliated with a similar organization in West Virginia, both of which have a similar goal: pushing the right-wing agenda at the state level and energizing right-wing voters ahead of the upcoming elections.
Focus’s own Citizenlink reports:
The Family Policy Institute of Washington, the 32nd state policy council fully associated with Focus on the Family, is up and running.
“God has brought this organization together very quickly and with a solid foundation," said John Paulton, manager of special projects for Focus on the Family Action. "We’re delighted to be associated with the Family Policy Institute of Washington (FPIW), and we look forward to partnering with them on some critical battles.
“The development of this new organization couldn’t come at a better time. Washington state is a pivotal state right now on several fronts, particularly on the defense of marriage.”
With local elections this year and governor and Legislature races next year, Executive Director Larry Stickney said his work is cut out for him. Gay-rights supporters in the Legislature intend to rewrite the state's Defense of Marriage Act — maybe as soon as next year.
…
And he's hitting the ground running in Washington. His team is working to build a state-of-the-art database of values voters. So far, they have 50,000 names.
He's also trying to get out the vote. In the 2006 general election, just 12 percent of values voters showed up at the polls, he said.
"This is why we've lost so much ground here. We see our work cut out for us, as reinvigorating the conservative Christians."
And the Charleston Daily Mail reports on the emergence of a similar group in West Virginia:
[The West Virginia Values Coalition seeks to tap] into that potential power and creating what he calls "an army of citizen soldiers" who will advocate on behalf of conservative family values.
Yes, that means lobbying the Legislature and passing laws that the organization considers "Biblically-based" -- for example, an amendment to the West Virginia Constitution specifying that marriage is between a man and woman.
[Jeremy] Dys and the Values Coalition expect to have help from one of the most powerful conservative Christian organizations in the country, James Dobson's Focus on the Family.
The organization, which says it is "dedicated to nurturing and defending families worldwide, is considering forming an "association" with the West Virginia Values Coalition. That would give the coalition considerable additional credibility and resources.
Focus has state-level affiliates spread throughout the country and though they have “no corporate or financial relationship to each other or to Focus on the Family,” they all share the same goal: “serving as a voice for the family and assisting advocates for family ideals who aim to recapture the moral and intellectual high ground in the public arena.”
So while Dobson and his organization have been relatively quite on the national front recently, it is clear that their political activities on the state level continue to move forward. And one should not expect Dobson’s silence to last much longer, as he is set to be honored at the upcoming Values Voters Summit in October as the Right prepares to energize and mobilize its base heading into next years election.Posted by Kyle at 4:10 PM | Permalink
Phyllis and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Today cannot be a very good one for the Eagle Forum’s Phyllis Schlafly. First off, President Bush basically laughed at those on the right who have been hyperventilating over a supposed conspiracy to install a “North American Union,” which has been one of the Eagle Forum’s primary focuses in recent months.
When asked about the allegations that he is secretly planning to destroy American sovereignty, Bush replied:
"It's quite comical, actually, when you realize the difference between reality and what some people are talking on TV about," Bush said. "You lay out a conspiracy and then force people to try to prove it doesn't exist.
"There are some people who would like to frighten our fellow citizens into believing that relations between us are harmful for our respective peoples," Bush said, accusing opponents of engaging in "political scare tactics."
"I just believe they're wrong," he said. "I believe it's in our interest to trade. I believe it's in our interest to dialogue. I believe it's in our interest to work out common problems for the good of our people."
In between fulminating about the dangers of this non-existent union, Schlafly has also been warning Americans about the dangers of the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST), claiming it is designed to “compel the United States to pay billions of private-enterprise dollars to the ISA bureaucrats, who can then transfer our wealth to socialist, anti-American nations (euphemistically called ‘developing countries’) ruled by corrupt dictators.”
And now, according to the Wall Street Journal, it looks as if President Bush is about to stiff her on that too:
What do the Nature Conservancy, Exxon Mobil Corp., offshore oil drillers, the fishing, shipping and diamond industries, President Bush and the U.S. Navy have in common?
Answer: They all support a little-known but highly contentious international treaty -- set to come before the U.S. Senate next month for ratification -- that governs nearly every aspect of ocean law, from underwater mineral rights to access to shipping lanes.
The 208-page Law of the Sea Convention, debated since the 1930s and sealed in 1982, has stirred passions for decades in Washington. Critics in the Senate have repeatedly blocked its ratification, saying the pact would undercut U.S. sovereignty. Supporters tout the treaty as a pillar of international law and key to long-term U.S. security. The U.S. is now one of fewer than 40 countries, and the only significant power, not to have joined.
…
Looking to buttress its legal case for ownership of a massive undersea ridge, Russia planted its flag earlier this month on a seabed more than 15,000 feet below the North Pole. Canada, asserting its disputed rights, plans a new fleet of ice-breaking ships and a deepwater Arctic port; yesterday, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper asserted his country's claim to the so-called Northwest Passage along its northern coast during a meeting with Mr. Bush in Quebec. And Denmark is sending a research team to push its own claim to undersea holdings that extend far from Greenland.
All this has put the U.S. in a jam. The Law of the Sea Treaty allows countries -- even nonsignatories -- exclusive rights to the seabed extending 200 nautical miles from their shores. Countries can then present evidence to claim rights to any of their continental shelf beyond that. Claims and disputes fall to one of several arbitration bodies established by the treaty. Without being a party to the treaty, the U.S. has no clear way -- short of threatening force -- to assert its claims.
U.S. officials said the stakes are literally vast. In the Arctic alone, the U.S. could lay claim to more than 200,000 square miles of additional undersea territories. The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy is in the region to continue mapping the ocean floor to help strengthen the U.S. case. By some estimates, the country's total additional undersea holdings, including extensions off the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico, could exceed 300,000 square miles, or roughly twice the size of California.
Recent estimates have found the Arctic could contain the equivalent of more than 400 billion barrels of oil and gas and massive amounts of another potential energy source, crystallized methane. The U.S. Geological Survey has estimated the amount of carbon found in hydrate form world-wide is "conservatively" twice the amount found in all the world's fossil fuels.
…
Administration officials also argue that Washington's failure to sign on to the treaty has, in fact, undercut the Proliferation Security Initiative, a U.S. effort to enlist international help to cut off shipments of nuclear and missile technology to countries such as Iran or North Korea.
Two countries that have declined to join PSI, Malaysia and Indonesia, recently cited Washington's spurning of the Law of the Sea Treaty as their main reason.
Others argue that the U.S. is already losing out in what promises to be a multibillion-dollar opportunity: the undersea mining of copper, zinc, cobalt and even diamonds. John Norton Moore, a top legal expert on the law of the sea at the University of Virginia, said Russian and Chinese firms have already laid claim to some of the biggest undersea mines in the world. Without joining the treaty, the U.S. has no forum in which to stake a claim.
Posted by Kyle at 4:01 PM | Permalink
Bush Finds Fears of North American Union "Comical"
Accuses those who've been warning of conpriacy of using "political scare tactics": "It's quite comical, actually, when you realize the difference between reality and what some people are talking on TV about. You lay out a conspiracy and then force people to try to prove it doesn't exist. There are some people who would like to frighten our fellow citizens into believing that relations between us are harmful for our respective peoples."
Posted by Kyle at 11:10 AM | Permalink
August 21, 2007
Anti-Immigrant Activists Descend on Newark
The idea that undocumented immigrants are causing a crime wave in the U.S.—while not supported by evidence—has been a mainstay of anti-immigrant activists for decades. For example, in instituting ordinances against hiring or renting to immigrants, Hazleton, Pennsylvania Mayor Lou Barletta claimed that immigrants were “terroriz[ing]” the city. But defending the ordinances in court, Barletta could not back this claim up. “The people in my city don’t need numbers,” the frustrated mayor declared when confronted with the city’s own statistics showing the opposite.
Similarly, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) and Minuteman Project founder Jim Gilchrist have been touting phony numbers on immigrants and crime.
But if statistics don’t back up their claims, anti-immigrant activists can always latch on to anecdotes. A recent multiple-homocide in Newark, New Jersey has implicated illegal immigrants, and national activists quickly descended upon the city, claiming that the crime was linked to local police not questioning suspects’ immigration status.
Possible presidential candidate Newt Gingrich used a visit to the Ames, Iowa straw poll to call for a special session of Congress to pass a law ensuring that “Any city, county or state that refuses to participate in checking every felony arrest will immediately lose all their federal aid.” Bill O’Reilly and Michelle Malkin echoed his attack on so-called “Sanctuary Cities.” Jesse Lee Peterson of Brotherhood Organization for a New Destiny (BOND), who makes a career out of denouncing Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, claimed that the murders in Newark were indicative of a “growing phenomenon” of “ethnic cleansing of blacks from lower-income neighborhoods by Hispanic gangs and illegal aliens.”
And on Monday, Republican presidential candidate Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) spoke at a rally in Newark, calling on the victims’ families to sue the city over the police department’s policy on checking immigration status. He was joined by anti-immigrant activists from You Don’t Speak For Me, a front group for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, and New Jersey Citizens for Immigration Control.
Tancredo’s goal is to circumvent immigration reform in the U.S. Congress by pushing anti-immigrant measures in state legislatures and city councils—whether in small towns like Hazleton, which lack evidence of problems with undocumented immigrants but have leaders willing to rouse sentiment against them, or in places like Newark, where a brutal crime can become fodder for outside activists like him.
Posted by Ezra at 5:58 PM | Permalink
The Opening of Ave Maria
The Naples Daily News has been running a series of articles about the opening of the new campus for Ave Maria University, the centerpiece of the Florida development dreamed up by the ultra-right wing founder of Domino’s Pizza, Thomas Monaghan:
“Ave Maria is not a Catholic town.”
Despite evidence to the contrary, the well-rehearsed line, articulated by town developers Barron Collier Cos., has become ingrained in pitches to prospective home and business owners, and members of the local and national media.
To believe it, visitors to the newly opened 5,000-acre town must ignore the town’s name, Latin for “Hail, Mary.”
Drivers and pedestrians should regard street names, such as Pope John Paul II Boulevard and Annunciation Circle, as clever brand names, adding theme, not tone, to the town.
…
To see past the religious overtones of the town, one must overlook the town’s focal feature. A 100-foot-tall steel-beamed oratory, topped with a 10-foot Celtic cross that is visible for miles, is positioned squarely in the town center, aptly named “La Piazza.”
Students attending the university will have to abide by a strict set of rules and regulations:
Student-led organizations, such as the Chastity Team and Pro-Life Club, will be based in the activity center.
“At Ave Maria, we’re trying to create a culture that faith informs life,” said Dan Dentino, vice president for student affairs. “Our students form friendships for life, because they are grounded in a certain truth and are able to express themselves.
“These are groups that can be controversial, and may be considered strange at home, but here, they can be the people they are meant to be.”
…
Students will be expected to adhere to Ave Maria’s strict housing rules, including limited access to rooms occupied by the opposite sex, no televisions and regulated music selections.
As for those living in the town, while they might not have a supermarket, gas station or bank, they will apparently have a lot of likeminded neighbors:
Jim and Ann Longon, a Philadelphia-area couple who are so enthralled with the Ave Maria concept they’ve bought two homes. Jim Longon, 63, who owned a company that provided outsourced office spaces, learned about Ave Maria through Legatus, a Monaghan-founded organization for Catholic business leaders.
The idea of living in a community where he could take certain shared political, moral and religious values for granted was exciting for him.
“On the golf course all we talk about is whether abortion is OK or not,” Longon said.
Posted by Kyle at 4:15 PM | Permalink
"The Terrorists Would Prefer to Have Hillary Clinton Elected President"
So says Douglas MacKinnon, writing in Townhall: "The paramount truth most liberals, and most in the media, will not allow to be spoken, is that if you are in favor of comprehensive immigration reform, if you are in favor of ending or scaling back the 'Patriot Act,' if you are in favor of stopping or even criminalizing warrantless wiretaps, if you are in favor of preventing our spy satellites from being used to protect our homeland, if you are in favor of never using facilities such as Guantanamo Bay to house murderous terrorists, if you are in favor of never letting our allies interrogate terrorists, then you are opening up the United States to a horrific terrorist attack. Period."
Posted by Kyle at 2:51 PM | Permalink
Those Who Believe in Evolution Are "Mutants" ...
... and "Slime-Snake-Monkey-People" according to Robert Bowie Johnson Jr.'s new book: "To shock the Darwinists out of their denial of the overwhelming evidence in Greek art for the reality of Genesis events, the author urges Creationists to refer to evolutionists as what they imagine they are—'Slime-Snake-Monkey-People.' Mr. Johnson, who holds a general science degree from West Point, also suggests that since Slime-Snake-Monkey-People insist they evolved over millions of years through a countless series of random mutations, Christians should also refer to them as 'mutants.'"
Posted by Kyle at 11:17 AM | Permalink
August 20, 2007
Going There: Utah Voucher Group Takes Anti-Gay Tack
For wealthy backers of publicly-funded private school vouchers, Utah has been a crucial battleground. Last year, Amway heir (and 2006 candidate for governor of Michigan) Dick DeVos and others poured a hundreds of thousands of dollars of “seed money” into a Utah PAC, Parents for Choice in Education, which set about electing state legislators who would support a voucher plan. While the group has used heavy-handed tactics before – invoking the specter of “illegal aliens” during last year’s campaign – it’s hit a new low with a recent push poll it conducted in an apparent attempt to stir up anti-gay sentiment against opponents of vouchers:
Bill Lee, a Sandy resident, earlier this week received a call he described as "pretty nasty stuff." He took notes about a portion of the survey he said asks how someone's vote would be affected knowing the same group that opposes vouchers, the "liberal national teachers' union," supports same-sex unions along with higher taxes. Parents for Choice declined to release the survey questions. …
"Many Utahns would be shocked to know the policies and positions promoted by the National Education Association, the parent organization of the UEA," [Elisa Clements, Parents for Choice’s executive director] said, referencing the Utah Education Association, the state's largest teachers' union, which opposes vouchers.
The UEA's communications director described the tactic as "dirty politics." "There are absolutely no resolutions dealing with those issues that have been handled by the National Education Association," Mark Mickelsen said.
Voucher advocates see Utah’s new plan – which will face a referendum this fall – as a potential model for the rest of the nation.
Posted by Ezra at 5:23 PM | Permalink
Cause or Effect?
Wayne Slater, writing in The Dallas Morning News, says that while Rudy Giuliani might not be much liked by the Republican Party’s social conservative, right-wing base, he might not be totally unacceptable either, especially if they are faced with the prospect of Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee:
As the most powerful movement in American politics for several decades, conservative Christians insisted that above all else, their candidates adhere to their positions on social issues, particularly abortion and gay marriage. But as their movement changes, many are placing the fight against Islamic extremism at the top of the list as well.
For the last several years, the “fight against Islamic extremism” has never been a key issue for the Right. While it has been an issue they’ve mentioned occasionally, its importance has always paled in comparison to their primary goals of fighting for restrictions on abortion, passing a federal marriage amendment, and controlling the federal judiciary. As a matter of fact, the issue of terrorism was nowhere to be seen on last year’s Congressional scorecard [PDF] put together by the Family Research Council and Focus on the Family, which claimed to be a “compilation of significant votes representing a cross section of issues affecting the family.”
So what could explain this relatively sudden rise in the importance of national security issues and terrorism for the Right?
Many have said they're unhappy with the current field, and in opinion polls, Republicans say they long for more and better choices for president. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's Mormon faith and only-recent opposition to abortion and gay rights is a problem for some Republicans. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, whose campaign appears to be foundering, is not a favorite of social conservatives because of his comments, during his 2000 race against Mr. Bush, that they wield too much influence in the party.
And Mr. Giuliani is considered unacceptable by some religious leaders because he supports abortion rights and has a rocky personal history, including two divorces.
Maybe, just maybe, the fact that none of the current candidates have particularly good records on the Right’s key social issues is what is driving this talk that fighting Islamic extremism is now as important as fighting gay marriage and abortion, as right-wing political organization struggle to figure out how to remain influential in a Republican primary where they don’t like any of the candidates.
But will it work? Maybe not:
"I don't think a majority of Southern Baptists who voted for George W. Bush – and that's 84 percent of them – will vote for Giuliani against Hillary Clinton. They will not do it," said Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.
Rather than vote for an abortion rights candidate, many Christian conservatives would stay home, he predicted.
The only thing that might change that would be a major terrorist attack, he said. A strong new threat to national security would shift the focus to which candidate would be the best choice for commander in chief – and that would mean a boost for Mr. Giuliani and Mr. McCain, Mr. Land said.
"America will elect a tough guy," he said. "And Democrats don't have any tough guys."
The most amazing thing about Land’s quote was that he was able to pull himself away from his duties as unofficial head of the Fred Thompson fan club long enough to weigh in. But when you are given the opportunity to badmouth Rudy Giuliani while calling the Democrats wimps and suggesting that another terrorist attack would really help out the Republican Party all in one article, you just can’t pass it up.
Posted by Kyle at 5:06 PM | Permalink
Falwell's Life Insurance Pays off Liberty's Debts
The Lynchburg News & Advance explains: "Liberty University recently announced that it was able to pay off its debt through $29 million in life insurance policies taken out on the Rev. Jerry Falwell, who died May 15 at the age of 73. Falwell’s son, Jerry Falwell Jr., said Liberty solicited several insurance providers in 2003 in order to do just that. Coupled with existing plans, the school was able to come away with a single $21 million policy with a $1 million annual premium. Falwell left a total of $34 million to Liberty University and Thomas Road Baptist Church. His son said Falwell had purchased six to eight insurance policies through three or four insurance companies."
Posted by Kyle at 4:03 PM | Permalink
CNN Looks at "God's Warriors"
Part III of the series, airing Thursday night, "traces how the Christian conservative movement, through grass-roots politics, became a force in U.S. society. The speakers include Ron Luce, founder of the Teen Mania Ministries; Ralph Reed, former executive director of the Christian Coalition; and the Rev. Jerry Falwell, co-founder of the Moral Majority. It would be Falwell's last interview before he died a week later."
Posted by Kyle at 3:55 PM | Permalink
Not Many on The Right Sorry to See Rove Go
Head of the Texas Eagle Forum says "social conservatives ultimately felt used" by Rove, but at least "we can walk away with ... two good Supreme Court judges."
Posted by Kyle at 1:39 PM | Permalink
Everything Is Awesome for Fred Thompson
Just ask Richard Land, who claims that Thompson's never-ending delay in officially entering the race is helping him: "The expectations, say a month ago, were so high, so unreal, that no one could have met them. I think, if anything, the delay has had the effect of injecting some realism into the expectations."
Posted by Kyle at 12:25 PM | Permalink