An Empty Gesture
- September/October 2010
- September 1, 2010
Zealous watchfulness against fusion of secular and religious activities by Government itself, through any of its instruments but especially through its educational agencies, was the democratic response of the American community to the particular needs of a young and growing nation, unique in the composition of its people. Justice Hugo Black, for the majority,
READ MORESometimes things that seem impenetrable are merely wrong. Take the song &”I Am the Walrus,&” composed by John Lennon and released by the Beatles in 1967. Lennon purposely tried to make the language obscure to pay back a high school English class that he heard was analyzing his lyrics. He was distressed later to realize
READ MOREOne of its least important decisions ever in the jurisprudence of ‘church and state’&” is how Nathan Diament of the Orthodox Union described the Supreme Court’s decision in Salazar v. Buono, which is only the latest twist in a legal saga that has been going on for more than eight years. What would cause a
READ MOREIn November 2009 the Catholic Church in Italy was faced with a "Crucifix Conundrum." Catholic crucifixes adorn every room of the public school system. In northern Italy, Soile Lautsi, a mother of two, filed a complaint against the Catholic practice, claiming it violated the secular intent of public schools in Italy and denied her the
READ MOREOn April 9, 2010, Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens tendered his resignation letter to the president.1 Within hours, considerable commentary and conjecture deluged the Internet. Legal pundits and law professors agreed that the 90-year-old justice was in some respects irreplaceable. His closely reasoned opinions have helped fashion the very warp and woof of our
READ MOREThe mere fact that people consider themselves civilized and enlightened is no surety of respect for human rights. The Nazi minister of justice issued a decree that "persons would be punished for acts which were not crimes when they were committed, and that a judge would have power to decide whether a defendant deserved to
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