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First Amendment

Phillips vs. Colorado Again, Horrific Priest Abuse & Cover-up, Economics of Abortion

August 15, 2018 by GregC

Listen to “Phillips vs. Colorado Again, Horrific Priest Abuse & Cover-up, Economics of Abortion” on Spreaker.
David French of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America take on three heavy topics, starting with Colorado baker Jack Phillips now having a powerful case of discrimination against the Colorado Civil Rights Commission after the commission ruled Phillips had violated the rights of a transgender lawyer for not customizing a cake for their gender transition or one depicting Satan engaged in a sex act.  They also hammer the Catholic church in Pennsylvania over the new grand jury report that reveals more than 3oo priests horrifically abusing more than a thousand children over the decades and the despicable lengths officials in the church went to in order to silence accusers and keep the priests in active ministry.  And they shred Chelsea Clinton’s absurd contention that abortion has been great for the economy because it allows more women to stay in the workforce.

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Filed Under: News & Politics, Podcasts Tagged With: abortion, Catholic Church, Chelsea Clinton, Colorado, Economy, First Amendment, Jack Phillips, National Review, pedophile priests, Pennsylvania, Three Martini Lunch

‘A Significant Win for Religious Freedom’

June 4, 2018 by GregC

http://dateline.radioamerica.org/podcast/6-4-STAVER-BLOG.mp3 http://dateline.radioamerica.org/podcast/6-4-anderson-blog.mp3

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled in favor of the Colorado baker who refused to customize a wedding cake for a same-sex ceremony, exciting defenders of religious liberty but leaving some of the broader issues of free speech and religious expression unresolved.

The 7-2 decision reversed a decision by the Colorado Court of Appeals and resolved a six-year legal dispute between Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips and the same-sex couple who allege Phillips discriminated against them.

“This is a significant win for religious freedom and it’s a great decision from the court that affirms the basic freedom for everybody to live and work according to their religious beliefs, without fear of unjust punishment from the government.  That’s a great thing for Jack and that’s a great thing for everybody today,” said Kate Anderson, legal counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented Masterpiece Cakeshop in this case.

Justice Anthony Kennedy, who authored the majority opinion legalizing same-sex marriage in 2015, also wrote the ruling this case.

“I was in the courtroom when this decision was handed down and when Anthony Kennedy was the one reading the decision, it really made me nervous,” said Liberty Counsel Chairman Mathew Staver, a fierce critic of Kennedy on many cases related to marriage over the years

“You couldn’t tell which way he was going at the very beginning, but as his discussion of the case moved forward it was clear the court ultimately sided with Jack Phillips,” added Staver.  “To get seven justices to agree on this particular issue, whether it’s narrow or broad, is a spectacular event, and it’s a good day.”

The legal battle began in 2012, when Charlie Craig and Dave Mullins entered the shop, looking to order a cake for their same-sex ceremony.

“He offered to sell them anything in his shop.  He just explained that he cannot create custom wedding cake designs that send a message that violates his conscience, in this case a cake that is custom in nature and sends a message celebrating a vision of marriage that violates his conscience,” said Anderson.

The Colorado Civil Rights Commission came down very hard on Phillips.

“The commission ruled against him and showed a great deal of hostility in that ruling.  They ordered him to create cakes for same-sex weddings despite his religious beliefs if he created any wedding cakes, so he has had to stop creating wedding cakes.  It’s been about a 40 percent hit on his business.

“The commission also ordered him to re-educate all of his staff in accord with the commission’s views on marriage.  Mostly it’s his family that works for him, so he was ordered, essentially, to re-educate his family on these issues,” said Anderson.

It was that “hostility” that drove Monday’s court ruling.

“[I]t must be concluded that the State’s interest could have been weighed against Phillips’ sincere religious objections in away consistent with the requisite religious neutrality that must be strictly observed. The official expressions of hostility to religion in some of the commissioners’ comments—comments that were not disavowed at the Commission or by the State at any point in the proceedings that led to affirmance of the order—were inconsistent with what the Free Exercise Clause requires,” wrote Kennedy

“The Commission’s disparate consideration of Phillips’ case compared to the cases of the other bakers suggests the same. For these reasons, the order must be set aside,” he added.

Anderson says the ruling is great vindication for Phillips.

“Now he can live according to his religious beliefs, which is a great thing for everyone.  The court was clear that the government cannot be hostile to religious beliefs and that the government, in applying the laws,  must be fair and respectful of people’s religious beliefs,” said Phillips.

But the decision is being characterized many many as narrow, not due to the margin in the court’s vote but to the impact of the ruling.

“The outcome of cases like this in other circumstances must await further elaboration in the courts, all in the context of recognizing that these disputes must be resolved
with tolerance, without undue disrespect to sincere religious beliefs, and without subjecting gay persons to indignities when they seek goods and services in an open market,” wrote Kennedy at the end of his opinion.

Staver says that means the battle goes on.

“One thing for sure is that it didn’t settle once and for all this issue of the clash between the first amendment and the LGBT agenda.  That will be saved for another day,” said Staver.

Anderson agrees in principle but says the condemnation of hostility could apply to other cases, such as Washington state florist Baronelle Stutzman, who is also on the legal ropes after refusing to service a same-sex wedding for clients she served for other purchases for years.

Anderson contends Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson demonstrated very similar hostility to Stutzman, moving forward with a case before he even had a client.

Staver says the court could add additional heft to Monday’s decision when it rules on another hot-button issue later this month.

“I think what we’re going to see between now and the end of June is a case out of California, involving crisis pregnancy centers and forced speech.  The state is forcing them to give a pro-abortion message.  I believe the court is going to come down on the side of the crisis pregnancy centers against the forced speech,” said Staver.

While the broader issues have yet to be resolved, Anderson says all Americans should celebrate what happened on Monday.

“Civil liberties run together so when one person’s rights to live according to their beliefs are violated, everybody’s beliefs are at risk.

“I hope that everyone can see that, that this strong decision that government needs to respect people’s ability to live and work according to their beliefs is something that goes both ways.  It means that everybody’s protected in their particular beliefs,” said Anderson.

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Filed Under: News & Politics, Podcasts Tagged With: First Amendment, Jack Phillips, LGBT, marriage, Masterpiece Cakeshop, news, religious liberty

1st Amendment Takes the Cake, Bill Clinton Hasn’t Changed, Trump & Pardons

June 4, 2018 by GregC


Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America cheer the Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of a Christian baker who was sued for not customizing a wedding cake for a same-sex ceremony but note the ruling focused on this particular case rather than broader issues of conscience and religious liberty.  They also cringe as Bill Clinton still sees himself as the victim in the Monica Lewinsky scandal and scolds an NBC reporter for even bringing it up.  And they’re incredulous as President Trump boldly announces he has the power to pardon himself and Trump’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani, contends Trump could not even be indicted for killing former FBI Director James Comey while still in office.

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Filed Under: News & Politics, Podcasts Tagged With: Bill Clinton. #metoo, cake, First Amendment, gay marriage, James Comey, Monica Lewinsky, National Review, pardons, President Trump, religious liberty, Rudy Giuliani, SCOTUS, sexual harassment, Supreme Court, Three Martini Lunch

America’s Stunning Civic Illiteracy

September 15, 2017 by GregC

http://dateline.radioamerica.org/podcast/9-14-carrington-blog.mp3

A new survey shows huge swaths of the American people don’t know the most basic tenets of our government, and a Hillsdale College politics professor says the lack of knowledge is playing a huge role in the politics of outrage and violence since the perpetrators have no idea how our system works.

Earlier this month, the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania released a survey showing a dismal comprehension of constitutional basics.  A third of Americans could not name a single branch of government.  Another 27 percent could only name one.  Only 26 percent could list the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

When asked to name one of the freedoms enshrined in the first amendment to the Constitution, 37 percent could not name any.  Forty-eight percent did come up with freedom of speech, but when asked to name another, only 15 percent could name freedom of religion, 14 percent cited freedom of the press, 10 percent knew of the right to assembly, and just three percent were aware of their right to petition the government to address their grievances.

Hillsdale College Politics Professor Adam Carrington says these numbers are pretty consistent with what we’ve seen in recent years.

“Polls have shown this consistently.  This is not an anomaly.  This is a consistent lack of knowledge of that by which we are supposed to govern ourselves.  So it’s a fundamental and massive problem,” said Carrington.

Carrington says the problem is especially acute given the responsibility placed in American citizens to run their government.

“If we were in a monarchy, I would say it doesn’t matter at all, but we’re a republic, where people rule through laws and they particularly rule through the Constitution.  For those who exercise the people’s rule to be held accountable, you actually have to know the standard by which you’ve established to hold them accountable,” said Carrington.

In addition, he says ignorance about our system feeds the rabid political environment we’re in today.

“People believe that what’s constitutional is what I like and what’s unconstitutional is what I don’t like, and that’s just not the way that our system of government works,” said Carrington.

Carrington says critical concepts like the separation of powers and checks and balances are part of the genius of our system, and when people are clueless about these ideas and why we have them, politics become toxic and even dangerous.

“I think when people are ignorant of how those things work, they basically get frustrated with the system and reject the very things that make it effective.  I think that’s why you see some people wanting to turn to violence, some people not understanding the way the system is supposed to work,” said Carrington.

“This kind of government can’t survive, at least for long, unless you have that bedrock principle of government of the people and a people who are worthy of governing themselves,” said Carrington.

How did our civic illiteracy get to this point?  Carrington sees a couple of prime factors, starting with the greater emphasis on education being a pipeline to a good job and an almost exclusive focus on the STEM subjects of science, technology, engineering, and math.

He says there’s nothing wrong with those subjects but insists education is about much more than that.

“A place like Hillsdale and other places that have an older view of education and say, ‘Well, no, actually learning to be a good citizen is an essential part of education.’  Sure, you can be a nurse or a teacher or a lawyer in your day job, but when are you not a citizen?  I think that lack focus has caused a massive problem as far as our civic literacy,” said Carrington.

But in addition to schools steering the focus of education away from citizenship, Carrington says another troubling reality to consider.

“I think it is also due to a rejection by many of the American founding and of the Constitution.  Some people believe it’s not worth studying, not just because they are focused on getting jobs as the role of education but they’ve rejected the very principles that undergird the Constitution itself,” said Carrington.

Nonetheless, Carrington says education is the key to turning this civic illiteracy around.

“It has to be through education and I think it has to become a commitment of the society in general.  It has to be a commitment of our curriculum in our schools.  It has to be something that’s taught in entertainment and that’s taught in homes,” said Carrington.

In recent years, Hillsdale College has offered free online courses on the Constitution and other aspects of our system of goverenment.

“Hillsdale’s really been trying to push civic education, having online courses and other things, because until the people know their own government it’s not going to get better.  I think there has to be a concerted, dedicated effort to doing that,” said Carrington.

He encourages anyone who feels like they’re lacking in civic knowledge to rectify that by learning about our founding and helping to turn civic literacy in the right direction.

“Hillsdale has tried to offer a lot of free resources and classes online – on the courts, on the Federalist Papers, on the presidency, on the Constitution – to try to give you the resources to bridge that gap, so that you can be a good citizen.  You can be a knowledgeable citizen that can take part in the kind of renewal of self-government that we so sorely need,” said Carrington.

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Filed Under: News & Politics, Podcasts Tagged With: branches, civics, Constitution, First Amendment, government, illiteracy, news

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