Congressional resolutions: threat or menace?

[Ed Brayton]

This reminds me of Justice Jackson's dissent in Zorach, where he reacted
with eloquence and anger to Justice Douglas' suggestion in his majority
opinion that the only way to justify opposition to the released-time program
was anti-religious bigotry:

 

"As one whose children, as a matter of free choice, have been sent to
privately supported Church schools, I may challenge the Court's suggestion
that opposition to this plan can only be antireligious, atheistic, or
agnostic. My evangelistic brethren confuse an objection to compulsion with
an objection to religion. It is possible to hold a faith with enough
confidence to believe that what should be rendered to God does not need to
be decided and collected by Caesar."

 

Coincidentally, I just used that quote in an article on a new released-time
program today.

 

Ed Brayton

 

From: religionlaw-bounces at lists.ucla.edu
[mailto:religionlaw-bounces at lists.ucla.edu] On Behalf Of Douglas Laycock
Sent: Wednesday, December 19, 2007 10:26 PM
To: religionlaw at lists.ucla.edu
Subject: Re: Congressional resolutions: threat or menace?

 

I don't know anything about the intensity or sincerity of their personal
faith, but these nine alleged anti-Christian bigots include a Baptist, two
AME (African Methodist Episcopal), two Presbyterians, two Episcopalians, one
Unitarian, and one Jew. So 7 are Christian and at least 3 (the Baptist and
AME) are probably evangelical Christians.  There are reasons other than
anti-Christian bigotry for these votes, like the greater religious content
in the Christmas resolution.

PC does exist, and there is anti-Christian animus, but it is not lurking
behind every disagreement. 

Quoting Will Linden <wlinden at panix.com>:

>
>   I have learned of yet another threat to our inclusive society
>
>
>> Dec 12, 2007 - Bill Action
>> <http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=hj110-15>Scheduled for
>> Debate: H.J.Res. 15: Recognizing the contributions of the Christmas tree
>> industry to the United States...
>> This bill has been added to a schedule of legislation to be considered
for
>> debate, or has been recommended by a committee to be considered.
>> (You are seeing this event because you are tracking
>>
<http://www.govtrack.us/congress/subjects.xpd?type=crs&term=Religion>Religio
n)
>
>    This was passed on Monday. It went by voice vote, so those THEOCRATS
> who want to FORCE everyone to buy live-cut trees (it praises them right in
> the "Whereas", so we know what THEY are really after) did not even have to
> put their names on record.
>     If we raise the alarm, it may wake up those people who waste their
> priorities worrying about triviality like the Protect America Act, so we
> can make sure that the Senate buries this outrage as it did last year.
>
>   Meanwhile, Get Religion notes:
>   "Of the nine representatives, all Democrats, who voted against the
> Christmas resolution, seven supported both the Ramadan and Diwali
measures.
> Those seven were Reps. Gary Ackerman and Yvette Clarke, both of New York;
> Diana DeGette of Colorado; Jim McDermott of Washington; Bobby Scott of
> Virginia; and Pete Stark and Lynn Woolsey, both of California. Rep. Alcee
> Hastings of Florida did not vote on the Diwali resolution, and Rep.
Barbara
> Lee failed to record a vote on the Ramadan measure."
>    Of course, this could not possibly mean anything, since PC does not
> exist and there is no anti-Christian animus anywhere.
>
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>


Douglas Laycock
Yale Kamisar Collegiate Professor of Law
University of Michigan Law School
625 S. State St.
Ann Arbor, MI  48109-1215
  734-647-9713

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