Monthly Archives: July 2022

Back in my day, I remember when The Church and The State at least pretended to operate in separate spheres. While you could debate over if the Pledge of Allegiance had us mouthing praise to a nation under a Christian God, it definitely wasnt under something secular like a Groove. In the olden times, the Elephant People espoused the importance of different spheres of action. It was a big selling point, actually. The state was supposed to make limited policy decisions that actually impacted people pave roads and maintain the prison population via the trifecta that is the War on Drugs, over-policing in communities of color, and strong on law and order rhetoric. Oh, and pardon turkeys. Presidents love doing that crap. The Church was supposed to do the rest: give thoughts and prayers, feed the homeless usually on the condition that they receive those thoughts and prayers, etc.

Now that the Supreme Court has made a bigger waste of the Establishment Clause than whatever amount of money Sony dedicated to making Morbius, things have gone topsy turvy. Given that the right to prayer includes pressuring people into being a part of your free exercise against their will, you should expect these once-separate spheres to coincide in strange ways. Like Former Education Secretary Bill Bennett forgoing law making and opting instead for the power of prayer to cull mass shootings.

Former Secretary of Education Bill Bennett, during aFox Newsappearance on Wednesday, suggested that expelling demons could be a way to cut back on mass shootings.

Bennett, who served as education secretary under President Ronald Reagan, weighed in on the function of red flag laws like those in Illinois that are designed to keep guns out of the hands of people who are deemed to be a danger to themselves or others.

Bennett, during hisFox News appearance, said parents, schools and police officers are among the people who can pay more attention to potential red flags for mass violence. But, you know, you may need an exorcist, too, he suggested. Bennett added that young men accused of mass shootings have deeply spiritual problemsIts a deeply spiritual void, I think, that these young men have in their hearts and their souls, and I think it needs to be addressed, Bennett said.

Finally, someone has the answers! It is not a good answer a bad one, even but it is one! And it is spreading like umm Im trying to make a metaphor about replicating bits of fish and loaves of bread. The juices arent flowing so please just take this Hail Mary and a tweet for good measure.

I think Louie is on to something. If prayer is the answer, it has to mean something drastic must be done. And quickly. Because prayer definitely wasnt enough to prevent a White supremacist from opening fire and killing nine churchgoers in the House of the Lord back in 2015. Or the 26 killed in a mass shooting at a San Antonio church. Or the three killed in at a church potluck. Or any one of the 314 mass shootings from this year.

Others have different solutions to Americas mass murder problem:

Although opponents of sensible gun controlthe kind that prevails throughout most of the civilized worldcontinue to put the spotlight on the shooters motivations or unstable mental states, these are cynical diversions from the one obvious truth: The common thread in all of the countrys revolting mass shootings is the absurdly easy access to guns. The science is clear: Restrictions work, and its likely that even more limitations would save thousands of livesMake protest signs. Start marching. Push lawmakers to finally break the partisan gridlock that has made moments of silence a regular observance. The National Rifle Association and its minions must be defeated. Its up to us because the victims of gun violence are tragically and devastatingly not here to protest themselves.

That said, Science.org is probably just some leftist fake media outlet anyway. All that data and peer-reviewed research aint nothing on our Second Amendment and a good Our Father. Prayer and policing doors are the only defense this country has against firearms, after all. And if you dont like it, you can get out.

Wildfire! Its spreading like wildfire! Why didnt I just say that earlier?

We Know What The Problem Is [Science]Fox News Commentator Implies Exorcists Can Curb Mass Shootings [Huff Post]

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord in the Facebook groupLaw School Memes for Edgy T14s. He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim,a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email atcwilliams@abovethelaw.comand by tweet at@WritesForRent.

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How The First Amendment Will Protect Us From Our Gun Crisis - Above the Law

Gorsuch uses other specious arguments. The most glaring fallacy occurs on a crucial point, when he rejects the claim that students felt pressure to join the prayers. Such social pressure was a key point in an earlier school-prayer case (Lee v. Weisman). According to the District Court, students at Bremerton had told their parents that they felt compelled to participate in the prayers and didnt want to separate themselves from the team. Gorsuch calls this hearsay, though its on record. (And anyone who has been part of a cohesive group as a teenager understands it instinctively.) Next, the coach was suspended for such prayers and also for his postgame religious talksdelivered to the captive audience Gorsuch claims the coach did not have. After the suspension, Kennedy returned to games and prayed alone on the field, as the school district suggested. None of his students joined him, but other people did. Clearly, the reason his students did not join him is that he had just been suspended for this, and the students didnt want to get in trouble or suspended from sports. But look what Gorsuch concludes from these facts: he uses the students lack of participation in the post-suspension prayers as evidence that they had not felt pressured to participate before the suspension. This is obviously faulty reasoning on probably the most important point of the ruling.

As an elected official, Im furious. I believe in the American experiment, in the hopes of religious diversity and e pluribus unum. At our best, we hold majority rule and minority rights in tension, just as we have tried to hold the Establishment and Free Exercise clauses in balance. But the last time teacher-led school prayer was legal (more than sixty years ago), our country was over 90 percent Christiannear 100 percent in many areas. That number has dropped to around 70 percent, and its significantly lower in some parts of the country. This ruling pretends to defend religious freedom for everyone in this increasingly diverse country, but in reality it will not encourage minority religious rights of free exercise. Ask any non-Christian in the Bible Belt how they felt during (Christian) team prayer in high school.

Moreover, e pluribus unum needs careful curation during moments of civil religion, in order to avoid government endorsement of religion or coercion of citizens. Gorsuch defends his ruling in part by reference to Town of Greece v. Galloway, a recent case that permitted prayer before town-council meetings. But the analogy between an orderly civic meeting of adults and an unregulated spontaneous prayer session with children confuses more than it clarifies. When the town that I serve puts on a civic event like Memorial Day, serious attention is paid to the invitations to religious leaders for invocations and benedictions. We can create conditions for salutary interactions among diverse people. But we cannot give the floor to anyone to pray however they want at a government-sponsored eventwhether a town parade or a high-school football game.

As a Catholic, Im disturbed. Even though the current Supreme Court has been labeled as a Catholic takeover, this particular ruling brings nothing good to Catholicism. Catholics already have the largest network of private schools in the country precisely in order to educate children separately in our values, beliefs, and rituals. Moreover, the form of public prayer defended by this ruling is only one specific type of religious expression: the spontaneous, charismatic, words-only prayer associated with Protestant Christians.

A Catholic coach at a public school might call a Hail Mary pass at the end of a game, but hes not going to lead the team in a rosary afterwards. A Greek Orthodox English teacher is not going to set up an icon in the corner of her classroom for prayer. Muslims and Jews will not feel emboldened to bring out prayer rugs or phylacteries to pray before students during school activities. Gorsuch does attempt one analogy to a Muslim teacher wearing a headscarf in the classroom, but he must know this is a category error. We have different kinds of legal analysis for religion in government monuments, symbols, funding, and prayer. It is forms of prayer at issue in this case, which is why Gorsuch makes no analogies to the actual ways that people besides Protestant Christians pray.

Finally, as a Bible-reading Christian, Im embarrassed. Im embarrassed for the Christian coach and the Christian justices. Catholic employees need Good Friday off for services, Muslims need private prayer breaks, and Jews need protection for Sabbath observance. But Biblical doctrine does not instruct Christians to pray in public places. Far from being a religious requirement, praying in public so that people can see you is literally the opposite of Jesus teachings. Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them, he warned. Do not be hypocrites who pray at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others.... But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door (Matthew 6:16). This teaching is not obscure. Its in the Sermon on the Mount. In a tragic irony, we thus have a Free Exercise case in which someone fought for and won the right to do what their religion explicitly teaches them not to do. In addition to causing problems for parents, schools, law, and government, this ruling is Christian hypocrisy in its purest form.

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Fumbling the First Amendment - Commonweal

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Floyd County to consider 'First Amendment auditor' training Tuesday; SPLOST work also on the agenda - Northwest Georgia News

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) Included in Nashville's longest-ever ballot, voters will have the choice to decide on four amendments to the Metro charter.

On the sample ballot, the amendments are from pages 11 to 17. Voters can either vote for ratification or against ratification.

Here's a breakdown of each.

Amendment No. 1

Broken down simply, the first amendment on the ballot comes about because of the Metro government running into constant lawsuits over the years, dealing with suits about the language of amending the charter.

While vague now, the amendment on the ballot clarifies that signatures from 10% of registered voters are needed to petition a change of the charter.

Petition language is also a piece of the puzzle, which the charter amendment would iron it before voters ever get their hands on the petition.

Additionally, the amendment would build a timeline for the petition process.

Amendment No. 2

The second amendment deals with police officer health requirements for the Metro Nashville Police Department.

Right now, the requirements are that of the United States Army and Navy.

Instead, the amendment would make it so that the Civil Service Commission would make the rules.

Amendment No. 3

The third amendment is a bit of digging into technical language.

Basically, the amendment would ask for a change to the qualifications for the Metro Board of Health and add an additional member.

It would also put in definitive language for the Metro Board of Health and Metro Department of Health.

As written, the amendment also takes away the requirement that the director of health be a doctor. However, if that person isn't a doctor, there must be a chief medical officer who is a doctor.

Amendment No. 4

The Nashville Department of Transportation has lifted off the ground.

However, this charter amendment would make NDOT a concrete addition to the Metro government.

Right now, NDOT falls under the public works department in the charter.

This amendment would make NDOT a standalone department.

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There are four charter amendments on the Nashville ballot. Here's what they mean. - News Channel 5 Nashville