“Is secularism a religion?”
No. You might be able to claim that atheism, as a pattern of (non)belief, might be construed as a religion, but “secularism” is neither a pattern of belief nor disbelief. As I pointed out in my article, secularism is merely the proposition that the Constitution and the laws that derive their legitimacy from it are grounded in popular sovereignty rather than the word of God. Many people who would prefer to see the separation between church and state weakened often claim that the government, by maintaining a secular distinction between the two, is somehow endorsing a religion called “secularism.” This is just plain silly. Read the First Amendment—if the government is obligated to maintain some level of distinction from religious affairs, then it must by definition be “secularist.”
“Evolution has never been proven to have happened to humans…[Are] evolutionists are also acting on faith?”
A: This argument reduces to absurdity rather quickly. As I stated in my article, science is not in the business of “prooving” anything; rather, it seeks to explain and predict on the basis of observation and hypothesis. No proposition of scientific knowledge is “proven” in the sense spoken of here. If you claim that “evolutionists” are acting on faith, then anyone who acts as if they except to fall back to earth when they jump is acting on faith, as gravitation is not something that science has “proven.” At the quantum level at least, our conventional Newtonian understanding of gravity has more or less been disproven. Our understanding of gravity is incomplete—but no one seriously doubts that the standard account of gravity captures some truth about what’s actually going on in the world. To demand that evolution be “proven” before it be taught is to place a stringent requirement on a piece of scientific knowledge that we do not apply to any other area of science.
“Remember, if the government defined what it considers a religion it is establishing a religion which is a violation of 1st amendment rights too.”
If a legislature takes no action with regard to the teaching of evolution (as indeed it should not), how has anything been defined? Anything can be inferred from a “definition by omission,” which is what makes the whole notion so silly.
It should also be noted that the Establishment Clause is NOT taken to provide for any particular individual right; instead, it places a requirement on the government to conduct itself in a particular way so as to bring about a certain state of affairs (and as such, it is fairly unique among all the clauses in the Bill of Rights). [Readers interested in understanding why the Supreme Court has reached that conclusion should begin by reading the list of cases found here.]
]]>“And ther’s a hand, my trusty friend,
And gie’s a hand o’ thine;
We’ll tak’ a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We’ll tak’ a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.”
I am a fan of the Bush administration, supporter of the war in Iraq, and believer that the world is a better place today than it was two years ago. I am also a believer that Donald Rumsfeld’s experience with the military makes him among the most qualified men in the world to hold the job of Secretary of Defense.
But this is inexcusable.
One doesn’t die for their country so that their casket may be draped with a flag and the President and Secretary of Defense may personally sign letters. No, one dies for their country for larger purposes and for greater goods.
But to the grieving - those who loved the deceased - such military honors are symbolic that such an ultimate sacrifice does not go unnoted and will not be forgotten. Funerals are not for the dead; they are for the living. And in these cases, the living deserve - and need - the most dignified possible funerals.
These men died at the orders of Mr. Rumsfeld. The least he should do is at least take a moment to think about their existence once they have paid the highest of prices. But instead he has had an auto-pen do the deed for him.
Auto-pens are used for campaign solicitations, Christmas cards and thank you notes, not letters to the families of the dead.
After the January elections in Iraq, the President might do well to reconsider his selection for Secretary of Defense.
]]>The selection seems like a no-brainer in light of last month’s national Republican electoral sweep headed by the President, who won his own race over Mr. Kerry. The November victories affirm a unique style of leadership that will persevere for at least four more years.
And while I agree with the selection, here are a few other people who might have made interesting selections:
Janet Jackson: That little incident at the Super Bowl back in January has led Howard Stern to abandon radio airwaves, network affiliates to opt out of airing Steven Spielberg films and Michael Powell to become a household name.
Jesus: Mel Gibson’s film about his final hours made a historic dent on the film industry, while President Bush, led by his philosophies, showed that a majority of Americans still care about his words 2000 years later.
Kofi Annan: You don’t have to be a positive person to be Man of the Year (Hitler was), and Annan may have proven to have shaken the world more than anyone else this year. He has brought corruption to the UN with the Oil for Food scandal, internal rancor with the sexual harassment corruption he turned a blind eye to, and is now under pressure to resign the highest international post there is.
William Rehnquist: His court has defined how foreign prisoners and enemy combatants may be treated, laid down the law on affirmative action, and now prepares to tackle the Pledge of Allegiance and numerous other issues. But with his illness comes question of where the court is headed, how safe those gay marriages in Massachusetts truly are, whether abortion can survive four more years, and panoply of other matters.
Michael Moore: His film, the highest grossing documentary of all time, sought to influence the election one way and may well have led it in the other direction. He made it into the Presidential Suite at the Democratic National Convention, and is now one of the most recognizable political figures in America despite having been nothing more than a weird breaking into auto plants with a video camera two decades back.
Sponge Bob Squarepants: Hey, it would have made for a really cute cover photo!
]]>This would be like appointing Joe Camel to be Attorney General, putting Betty Ford on the board of Johnnie Walker or requesting a trio of Purple Hearts for self inflicted wounds.
Oh, wait…
]]>“Senior moment,” indeed. Good luck on finals, everybody.
Update: Slate’s Timothy Noah says this is just one more example of the many “idiocies” of the Electoral College.
]]>Now, the Afsharis did attend two conventions of a student run Persian organization (a group that has had several members investigated by the F.B.I.) but to consider their employment at the institute a threat to this nation is quite a stretch. Mr. Afshari is 52 years old and has a doctorate in industrial engineering. Mrs. Afshari is 43 and has a mater’s degree in occupational health and safety. They have one child in college, one in dental school, one in middle school, and they live in a quiet residental neighborhood in Morgantown, West Virginia. While they were employed, neither had access of any kind to classified government documents or banned biological or chemical toxins. Their research was purely academic and of public record. Neither had applied for access to higher security clearances, which entails more intensive background investigations but still grants people the right to request internal documents if they fail the checks. Such explanations provide people the means to defend themselves—an opportunity the Afsharis were never given.
I don’t know about you, but I feel safe knowing that the government is spending all our tax money investigating and firing middle-class, middle-aged potential “renegades” while Mr. bin Laden and his murderous comrades are free to plot their next attack. I am strongly in favor of defeating terrorism domestically before we exercise all means to do it globally, but the case against the Afsharis is baseless and unfair.
I am confused that those who cry for “less government” do not get upset with such obvious examples of excessive governmental interference in citizens’ lives. There is a fine line between being careful and being paranoid—and an even finer line between actions that can be considered defensive and actions that cannot be defended at all. The Afshari’s case is one more example of government leaders (particularly through certain questionable Patriot Act provisions) using national fear to rationalize tampering with the rights of citizens. Justifying governmental oppression in the name of “national security” is appalling. And, though I would like to believe otherwise, there is little doubt that the fact that the Afsharis happen to be Muslim is just a coincidence. Perhaps it was a lawyer representing the couple, Allan N. Karlin, who said it best: “How can we expect the people of the Middle East to emulate our democratic ideals abroad when we fail to apply those ideals to people like the Afsharis here?”
]]>So who to top the department now?
Some thoughts:
Asa Hutchinson, the current #2 guy, is a seasoned politician, loyal Republican, and has excellent experience in the department
Rudy Giuliani would be an interesting pick, though word is that he is holding out to run for Commander in Chief in ‘08.
John McCain would be stellar, if the governor of Arizona would agree to appoint a Republican to the senate to replace him.
John Danforth, who recently resigned as US Ambassador to the UN, was reportedly holding out for the Secretary of State post, but might be willing to take this spot.
William Cohen, a Republican from Maine who was President Clinton’s Secretary of Defense, would be an interesting bi-partisan choice.
James Carafano, The Heritage Foundation’s Senior Research Fellow for Defense and Homeland Security, knows the turf extremely well and would make for a stellar non-political selection. (Full disclosure: I am a former Heritage intern, and still serve as a book critic to Townhall.com, a website operated by the foundation.)
George Pataki, the governor of New York, stumped hard for President Bush on the campaign trail, and has experience insofar as he was running the state on 9/11. Drawback: New York may never again elect a Republican governor.
And finally, it is worth noting that both Casper Weinberger and Henry Kissinger are still alive.
]]>The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post both tried to cover for Rumsfeld with bogus claims that armor production is at full capacity: link
]]>The attitude toward Wicca in this country is that it is just one of many acceptable religions. Right here in Wisconsin, just a few years ago, we decided to appoint a Wiccan to be chaplain at the Waupun Correctional Institution.
Wicca is the single fastest-growing religion in America and it is also spreading in Europe. It is not fun and games, but downright dangerous. If the Church does not stand up to this, nobody else will.
]]>Note that the scope of the ruling was limited, meaning gay marriage legislation will proceed piecemeal on a province-by-province basis.
Extended analysis is available at SCOTUSBlog.
]]>Recently, a fourth grader in New Orleans was suspended for bringing jell-o shots to school to sell to the other kids. The jello was then handed over to the police to determine whether or not they contained alcohol. The reason behind this bizarre story? The girl’s mother is a bartender who sells jell-o shots in her bar and in order to get money for Christmas, the girl was selling them at school.
This is one of those sad stories that gets extra attention during the holiday season. Just remember, at a time of caring and sharing, it’s important not to forget the people who are less fortunate.
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