Kathleen Parker, a moderate and thoughtful conservative, has a column in the Washington Post arguing that Elena “Kagan is miles away from mainstream America.” The focus of her article is on how Kagan would be the fourth Justice to hail from New York City (as a Brooklyn resident myself, I want to note that she’s obviously missed the memo about how the framers intended the Supreme Court membership to reflect the famous New Yorker map of the United States).
Read the full postArchive for the 'Russell Pearce' Category
Reading the Kagan Tea Leaves: Maybe She’s Not a Mainstream Liberal on a Few Religious Issues
by russellpearce
Two recent news stories offer “tea leaves” that suggest Elena Kagan may not be a mainstream liberal on at least two issues related to religion. First, the New York Times reports that in 1997 she advised President Clinton to sign legislation banning late-term abortions. While you could say that she made that argument on pragmatic [...]
Read the full postWhy We Need a Protestant Justice: A Call for a More Nuanced Approach to Rule of Law
by russellpearce
In 1990, when I resigned as General Counsel to the New York City Commission on Human Rights to join the Fordham Law School faculty, I was the only White member of the of the executive staff. I urged the Commissioner to try to find a qualified White person, if available, to replace me. He rejected that idea, presumably because Whites are the dominant racial group and not in need of any representation in the leadership of a government agency. Today, we face a similar question with regard to whether there should be at least one Protestant Supreme Court Justice. Protestants account for more than half of Americans today and historically have been our dominant religious culture.
Read the full postIn a story today, the New York Daily News reported that “a Catholic Nurse” is suing Mount Sinai Medical Center because she was forced to assist in an abortion . . . over her strenuous objections.” Under Section 8-107(3) of the New York City Human Rights Law and Section 296 (10) of the New York State Human Rights Law, this lawsuit should be a slam-dunk. Both of these laws forbid an employer from requiring an employee to violate their religious belief so long as the employer can provide a reasonable accommodation.
Read the full postEEOC Victory for Muslim Interfaith Advocate Who Founded Arab Language Public School
by russellpearce
This week, my synagogue will honor Debbie Almontaser, a Muslim woman, and celebrate her victory before the EEOC.
The very brief summary of Ms. Almontaser’s case is as follows. She was the founding principal of the Khalil Gibran International Academy, a public school with “a special emphasis on Arabic language on culture.”
(Parody News Service*) President Barack Obama has tonight for the first time hosted a Purim celebration at the White House.
Purim celebrates the successful efforts of Queen Esther and her Uncle Mordecai to save the Jews of the Persian Empire from “Haman’s plot to annihilate them, as recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purim . The traditional celebration includes dressing in costumes and drinking to the point where you cannot distinguish between the hero Mordecai and the villain Haman.
