SI
SI
discoversearch

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor.  We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community.  If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.
Politics : I Will Continue to Continue, to Pretend....
 Public ReplyPrvt ReplyMark as Last ReadFilePrevious 10Next 10PreviousNext  
To: Sully- who wrote (22391)8/28/2006 9:16:58 PM
From: Sully-  Read Replies (1) of 35834
 
People just don't get the First Amendment

Betsy's Page

Nat Hentoff is one of the most honest liberal writers out there. His main focus is the First Amendment issues and every time I've read him, he's been incredibly fair. So, I am always interested to see what he's writing about. Today, he has a column in the USA Today arguing that many ACLU types don't really understand the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment. Thus, they have a coniption when students express their own religious beliefs. He gives as an example a New Jersey school that wouldn't allow a second grader sing Awesome God for an after-school talent show. What the school didn't get is that there is a big difference between a school having kids sing a hymm and a child herself choose the song to sing in a talent show.

The ACLU has taken the case of the New Jersey second grader. However, in another case, they are taking the case of a school that pulled the plug on a valedictorian's speech in which she thanked the Lord as she graduated.

Hentoff points out that the ACLU has contradictory positions on such First Amendment questions. That is true. However, I'd point to the whole jurisprudence that the Supreme Court has given us in the past 30 or so years on the First Amendment. It's hard for schools to know what is and isn't permissible. If one of these sorts of cases could get to the Court, perhaps we could have some clarification today. Now that O'Connor and her tendency to discover new tests in the Constitution is gone, perhaps we could just get some clear-cut decision. Of course, that would necessitate Anthony Kennedy thinking in a clear-cut manner. So, perhaps, we wouldn't get any clarification after all.

betsyspage.blogspot.com

usatoday.com
Report TOU ViolationShare This Post
 Public ReplyPrvt ReplyMark as Last ReadFilePrevious 10Next 10PreviousNext  

HomeMailHotSubjectMarksPeopleMarksKeepersSettings
Terms Of UseContact UsCopyright/IP PolicyPrivacy PolicyAbout UsFAQAdvertise on SI
© 2025 Knight Sac Media.  Data provided by Twelve Data, Alpha Vantage, and CityFALCON News