religious freedom

2022 Martini Awards Part 4: Best Idea, Worst Idea, Boldest Tactic

December 28, 2022 by GregC

Listen to “2022 Martini Awards Part 4: Best Idea, Worst Idea, Boldest Tactic” on Spreaker.

More year-end awards today! Jim and Greg embark on the second half of their six-episode saga known as the 2022 Three Martini Lunch Awards. Today, they offer up their selections for the best political idea, worst political idea, and boldest political tactics for the year. Their selections range from the campaign trail to the halls of Congress to the biggest land war in Europe in more than 75 years.

Please visit our great sponsors:

Liver Health Formula

https://GetLiverhelp.com/Martini

Visit today or call 800-282-1757 to claim your risk-free supply of Liver Health Formula and all 5 bonus gifts.

SCOTUS Sides with Freedom, Durbin’s Dumb D-Day Analogy, Biden Redefines Title IX

June 17, 2021 by GregC

Listen to “SCOTUS Sides with Freedom, Durbin’s Dumb D-Day Analogy, Biden Redefines Title IX” on Spreaker.

Greg and guest host Alexandra DeSanctis Marr cheer a unanimous Supreme Court decision that says faith-based adoption agencies can limit their clients to traditionally married couples and that government must work with them. They also call out Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin for comparing those who want to kill the filibuster with the heroes of D-Day. And they react to the Biden administration issuing guidance declaring that Title IX protections against sex discrimination apply to sexual orientation and gender identity issues as well.

Please visit our great sponsors:

X-Chair
https://xchairmartini.com
Get your xchair for $100 off and use promo code XWHEELS for FREE X-Wheel Blade Casters only at Xcharimartini.com

My Pillow
https://mypillow.com/martini
Premium My Pillows are at their lowest price yet! Get a Queen Premium My Pillow for only $29.98 with code MARTINI.

High Court Says Cross Stays

June 20, 2019 by GregC

Listen to “High Court Says Cross Stays” on Spreaker.

The U.S. Supreme Court Thursday ruled that a Maryland war memorial in the shape of a giant cross does not constitute government endorsement of a particular faith and can stay in place, a ruling hailed by religious freedom advocates and slammed by secularists.

In his majority opinion in American Legion v. American Humanist Association, Justice Samuel Alito says the “Peace Cross” in Bladensburg, Maryland, is clearly a Christian symbol but there is also historical and community significance to the 93-year-old memorial constructed to honor local soldiers who died in World War I.

The vote was 7-2, with multiple concurring opinions and a dissent from Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg that was joined by Sonia Sotomayor. Justice Clarence Thomas said the cross was “clearly constitutional.” Justice Brett Kavanaugh said the memorial should stand on “history, tradition, and precedent.” Justice Neil Gorsuch said the American Humanist Association did not even have standing to argue the case.

In her dissent, Ginsburg says it would be inappropriate to honor Christian soldiers with a Star of David so it is wrong to pay tribute to people of varying faiths under a cross. Justice Stephen Breyer sided with the majority but strongly suggested he would not support new monuments or displays in the form of a cross.

The Family Research Council submitted a friend of the court brief in defense of the “Peace Cross.” FRC Vice President for Policy Travis Weber says this is a good day for religious freedom.

“The court today said this memorial can stand. It’s perfectly consistent with the Establishment Clause of the first amendment. It’s not an establishment of religion. It’s good to see a majority of the court agreeing with this result,” said Weber, who also directs the Center for Religious Liberty at Family Research Council.

Weber says those on the other side of the debate have a deeply flawed understanding of what the framers of the Constitution meant when they forbade Congress from establishing religion.

“It’s very clear that they were getting at the state setting up formally a system of religious belief and forcing people to abide by that specific system of religious belief. They were not getting at any religious expression in the public square,” said Weber.

While Weber is grateful for Thursday’s ruling, he wishes the court would be even more decisive.

“The court could have gone further to clarify the tangled confusion of the Establishment Clause case law that’s currently on the books. The heartening thing is this moves us in the right direction,” said Weber.

Listen to the full podcast to hear why Thursday’s ruling could spell the end of the “Lemon test,” which is often used by lower courts to remove religious symbols from the public square. He also responds to Justice Ginsburg’s argument that a cross should not be used for a memorial to soldiers of multiple faiths.

The Case for Talking Human Rights with North Korea

May 11, 2018 by GregC

The release of three Americans held prisoner in Iran is being hailed as a sign of increased goodwill heading into next month’s U.S.-North Korea summit, but a leading group assisting persecuted Christians is imploring the Trump administration to make human rights and religious freedom an important part of the conversation as well.

President Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un are scheduled to meet June 12 in Singapore. Removing nuclear weapons from the Korean peninsula is the top goal for the U.S.

Such an idea seemed impossible just months ago when Trump and Kim were trading barbs about the size of their nuclear buttons, but relation appear to be thawing after Kim’s promise to halt testing of nuclear weapons and missiles leading up to the summit, a positive meeting between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and now the prisoner release.

Open Doors USA President and CEO Dr. David Curry is also excited about the possibility of North Korea mending its ways.

“It’s likely a charm offensive, but you must acknowledge that progress has been made that hasn’t been made before,” said Curry.

Open Doors USA assists persecuted Christians around the world. It consistently ranks North Korea as the worst nation on earth in its treatment of believers. Curry says the release of the three Americans ought to remind us that thousands of unknown North Koreans are imprisoned for their faith with virtually no present hope for release.

“I think what it points to is the people that we don’t know, the ones that are not American citizens, the 50,000 or more…who are Christians in labor camps right now in North Korea today. They could fill a stadium in any city across America,” said Curry.

Curry is pushing the U.S. to demand transparency from North Korea on the treatment of religious and political prisoners.

“What we think would be a helpful thing for the North Korean regime to do – during this time of talk of denuclearization – is make a show of goodwill and open up the labor camps for inspection by the Red Cross so we can begin to understand the scope of the humanitarian crisis there,” said Curry.

He expects Kim to resist such a demand vigorously.

“I think Kim Jong-Un will hold out for the lifting of economic sanctions and denuclearization and try to maintain an iron fist control over his regime,” said Curry.

That iron-fisted approach can land believers in prison or labor camps for the simplest of things.

“You can be arrested and put in a labor camp for years or decades, and some people even die there just for being caught with a bible or being under suspicion of being a Christian. If people sense that you’ve had a bible study or met with others, these sorts of things in North Korea can get you in a great deal of trouble,” said Curry.

Curry says including the issue of human rights and religious freedom is vital for countless people unjustly jailed in North Korea.

“The reason you bring in these human rights issues is that if you really and truly do have 50,000 Christians in labor camps – but there are many more than that for other crimes against the state – what are there conditions? Can we bring the Red Cross and the UN into these camps to make sure that people who are starving there can be helped in some way?” asked Curry.

He says the onus is on Kim to prove the international community ought to have a change of heart about his regime.

“What he may not have calculated and what we must insist upon is that if he wants to be part of the international community…and what that means, he’s going to have to pass some social norms regarding human rights regarding religious liberty and the treatment of prisoners,” said Curry.

And he has other ideas to follow up on those human rights conditions.

“I think an easy one is to allow a visit of the International Religious Liberty Ambassador Sam Brownback within the first 90 days. There are targets I think we can set out like that within 60 days, within 90 days, where the religious liberty ambassador can get in there, have conversations, and have religious liberty, make some observations.

“You have the UN Council on Inquiry be able to inspect certain areas, begin to understand how far we have to go with the North Korean regime and what they’re willing to do to [allow] the World Health Organization and so forth to aid their people,” said Curry.

Standard Podcast [ 8:50 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download