PJI announces "Hall of Shame 2010"

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Pacific Justice Institute reflects back on 2010 with some of the worst outrages against religious freedom and the family. These incidents remind us that there is much work to do in 2011.

1. A federal judge in San Francisco declares that the U.S. Constitution requires gay marriage and declares unconstitutional Prop. 8, California's voter-approved affirmation of traditional marriage. In his ruling, Judge Walker lashed out against religious beliefs and moral standards.

2. California's Governor and Attorney General refused to defend Prop. 8, even though state law required them to do so. PJI filed suit seeking to require them to fulfill their statutory duties.

3. In a case from San Francisco, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that Christian groups at public universities cannot require that their leaders believe in and practice Christianity.

4. Just before Easter, the City of Rancho Cucamonga, CA, attempted to shut down a home Bible study, while leaving alone similar gatherings for non-religious reasons. The city reversed course after PJI intervened.

5. Atheists threaten legal action against the Southern California City of Ontario after it posted the national motto in city council chambers. After PJI offered to defend the city at no charge, the atheists did not sue.

6. A school district in Vallejo, CA, attempts to require all students-beginning in kindergarten-to undergo pro-homosexual indoctrination. PJI is representing parents.

7. A federal judge in Massachusetts strikes down Defense of Marriage Act. PJI is filing an amicus brief in the Court of Appeals.

8. The federal government takes over the health care system with one of the most massive and intrusive pieces of legislation in U.S. history. PJI files suit in federal court.

9. Congress refuses to act to allow the citizens of the District of Columbia to vote on how to define marriage.

Pacific Justice Institute is a non-profit 501(c)(3) legal defense organization specializing in the defense of religious freedom, parental rights, and other civil liberties. Pacific Justice Institute works diligently, without charge, to provide their clients with all the legal support they need.

Pacific Justice Institute

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To: President Obama
“Because you said so, huh????”

Well … when it comes to what you just did to Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell “THE” “F” is for YOU.  You probably have not thought much lately about the reality that there is another level of “F” beyond our educational system letter grade of “F”.  This additional level of “F” exists because there is an “Intersection-Geometry” based proper assembly level between “Life” and the creation impetus some of us prefer to call God.  This provable fact that human consciousness has titled “mechanics” means that you are wrong without using, accepting, or believing in the existence of Divine Understanding(s), and without regard to any belief in the existence of “A” God. 

At the “Intersection-Geometry” based proper assembly level – the first thing that impetus became, or in other words, the first element in the order of precedence – you will find one of the core tenets of human rights precedents; and that tenet is expressed by our laws that allow/mandate that any-one/heterosexual who does not recognize and comply with gender realities – “Life’s Truths” – could/will be sued punitively for everything that must be confiscated and possibly set on the curb with their children.  You do remember this made clear in law school must be legal element of our civil rights precedents, right????

Thanks to you, and the many other so called enlightened, we now have a group of people who have been allowed to do what has been made “Life” threatening and illegal for the rest of us.  Tell me … tell us … why it is right for them not to have to comply with gender realities.  You have also allowed them to be able to taint our society’s ability to maintain accuracy, because everything they/we build from the premise of this allowance will automatically have an error in it. 

The only way anyone on this planetary body could make us weak in any way – including educationally or economically – is by way of inconsistent and incorrect required/legalized beliefs.  As any “Lawyer” should know … once someone has been “bogged down” with having to maintain chosen procedures that are improperly structured, it is easy to pick them off and take away or eliminate their efforts. 

On Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell … The letter grade of “THE” “F” is for YOU.

Thinking of Everyone,

Bernard L. Williams | Bellingham, Washington

P.S. The title “Politician” is not a dirty word to me.  I know how difficult it truly is to face “Where is mine,” “Where is mine,” from tens of thousands of people – in your case billions of people – when there are only a thousand or so answers that are readily produced, and only in inadequate quantities.  No matter what I have to explain, I constantly correctly, loyally, and joyously speak you ‘all’s name in the open everywhere; and I never miss a chance to sing your vast number of commendations to the impetus of consciousness and meaning. 

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Home grown security

In WWII, Japan's highest ranking naval officer was Isoruku Yamamoto. Although he was Japanese, and his loyalties were unquestionably with The Empire, he studied for many years in America, graduating from Harvard University.  There is an oft-repeated (and sometimes disputed) quote attributed to him regarding the possibility of any nation taking a war to American soil:

"You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass."

Here is why he was correct: America's Hunters. The World's Largest Army.

The state of Wisconsin has gone an entire deer hunting season without someone getting killed. That's great, considering there were over 600,000 hunters that got permits this year.

Allow me to restate that number.

Over the last two months, the eighth largest army in the world – more men under arms than Iran; more than France and Germany combined - deployed to the woods of a single American state to keep the deer population under control.

 But that pales in comparison to the 750,000 who are in the woods of Pennsylvania this week.  Michigan's 700,000 hunters have now returned home.  Toss in a quarter million hunters in West Virginia, and it is literally the case that the hunters of those four states alone would comprise the largest army in the world. 

And that is just FOUR states.

The total population of registered hunters in America today ranges from 23 million to 43.7 million individuals. (Based on annual data provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.)

As long as the American Hunter retains his right to Bear Arms, America will forever be safe from foreign invasion of troops.

Hunting - it's not just a way to fill the freezer.  It's a matter of national security.

Mark M. Lichterman
Originally published on AuthorsDen.com

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Ninth Circuit finds Soledad Cross unconstitutional

PASADENA, Calif. – A three judge panel for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals handed down an opinion yesterday in which it found the cross atop Mt. Soledad in San Diego County violates the Establishment Clause.

The cross was first erected in 1913 and has been periodically replaced over the years when damaged. The current 29 foot cross has been in place since 1954 and has served as a war memorial. Congress acquired the cross via eminent domain in 2006. Litigation over the cross began in 1989 and has been ongoing ever since.

Attorney Pete Lepiscopo of San Diego has represented the Pacific Justice Institute in motions to intervene Brad Dacus, president of PJI stated, "We are disappointed with this decision and hope that the Department of Justice files a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court."

Pacific Justice Institute is a non-profit 501(c)(3) legal defense organization specializing in the defense of religious freedom, parental rights, and other civil liberties. Pacific Justice Institute works diligently, without charge, to provide their clients with all the legal support they need.

Pacific Justice Institute

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Why would a religion prohibit music?

Throughout history, music has been a profound cultural element in nearly all of man’s diverse cultures. It has played a beneficial role in human development and the civilizing of mankind. Scientists are discovering that in addition to the positive effects on human health, music enhances intelligence.

In 1989, the National Commission on Music Education reported that students taking music courses scored an average of 20 – 40 points higher on both verbal and math portions of the SATs. Recent research concluded that “music training produced long term changes in the wiring of the brain and improved spatial-temporal IQ scores important for some types of mathematical reasoning.”

In spite of the research and evidence, music education gets a bad rap and is usually the first subject to be eliminated in any budgetary crisis. More troubling are reports from Kuwait which reveal a religious antipathy to music. Muslim parents are demanding a ban on government funded music classes stating “music is not part of our tradition and religion and we totally reject it.” In Somalia, a Muslim leader is threatening to file an Islamic law suit if all the radio stations do not stop playing music. The leader claims his demands are based on the guidelines set by Prophet Mohammed.

Would it be impertinent, not to mention politically incorrect, to ask why would a religion prohibit music? The following quotes are from Islamic texts: “The Prophet said that Allah commanded him to destroy all the musical instruments, idols, crosses and all the trappings of ignorance”; “Song makes hypocrisy grow in the heart”; “Allah will pour molten lead into the ears of whoever sits listening to a songstress.”

Middle Eastern Muslims had access to Greek musical theory but unlike Christian Europe, did not use it. The growth and evolution of polyphonic music in monasteries and cathedrals by Palestrina and Bach lead to the monumental opuses of Beethoven and Brahms. There was no Mozart in the Islamic world; nor any music that has “charms to soothe a savage breast, to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak.” (William Congreve 1670 – 1729)
        
Ed Konecnik | Flushing, New York

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The federal appeals court ruling that the Mount Soledad Memorial Cross is unconstitutional

I am disappointed with the federal appeals court ruling that the Mount Soledad Memorial Cross in San Diego is unconstitutional.

The Cross is the sign of the Passion, and at the same time it is a sign of the Resurrection. It is, so to speak, the saving staff that God holds out to us, the bridge by which we can pass over the abyss of death, and all the threats of the Evil One, and reach God.

The Cross displays what is distinctively Christian. It is also a symbol of universal love. It is the image of the Christian revolution which has spread the idea of equality between all men all over the world.

The most basic Christian gesture in prayer is and always will be the sign of the Cross. It is a way of confessing Christ crucified with one's very body. It is a visible and public Yes to Him who suffered for us. It is a confession of faith, a confession of hope.

Let us fight to keep our religious signs and symbols from the atheistic clutches of Big Brother in this Orwellian age.

Sincerely,

Paul Kokoski | Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

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Mark Twain, really?

Sir, perhaps I'm getting old and crotchety but I'll choose to believe otherwise.

I read the item published in the January 4th issue of the N.Y. Times in which you were referenced and quoted several times.  I found it to be especially disturbing.

There is an awful lot of interest these days in changing history to suit current norms.  Modifying facts, or the historical words of others, changes their meaning, impact, relevance, and historical significance.  Making things softer doesn't make the world a better place.

Some folks don't want to discuss the Holocaust in teaching modern history – perhaps it didn't happen and we should just make it go away.  Not now? Okay, maybe 50 or 100 years from now when survivors and relatives too, are dead; it will be easier to accomplish without troublesome witnesses.

Wording in the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution is troublesome for some, even our current president has taken to informally modifying them; perhaps we should change those words to make everyone comfortable.  The Bible, both the Old and New Testament, offers another opportunity for current day editors.  It has many troubling passages which some find difficult to accept.  I can almost hear you saying, 'you are over simplifying a complex issue and doing so with irrelevant, off-point examples'.  Really?

Frankly Sir, I find many words in common use today more offensive than 'nigger'.  I find many words used in music today, far more offensive.  But that's just me.

Academics, and other would-be editors, should just leave history and literature alone.

Respectfully,

John Traynor | Carefree

P.S.  I take offense at the use of words like crack·pot, and nut·case, especially when used in reference to me.  I’m okay with crotchety and/or irritable, and I didn't always live in a Red state.

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Energy progress: The lessons of history

WASHINGTON – Most commentators on energy believe that government planning is needed to bring about breakthroughs in the energy industry. But in “Energy at the Speed of Thought: The Original Alternative Energy Market,” Alex Epstein, a fellow at the Ayn Rand Center, illustrates how history shows the opposite: government intervention in the market produces stagnation and debacles, while a genuinely free market in energy technology has yielded the most dramatic breakthroughs.

“[T]he government has heavily subsidized solar, wind, and other favored ‘alternatives,’ and embarked on grand research initiatives to change our energy sources – claiming that new fossil fuel and nuclear development is unnecessary and undesirable. The result? Not one single, practical, scalable source of energy &he

“But the past failures do not warrant cynicism about the future of energy; they warrant cynicism only about the future of energy under government planning. Indeed, history provides us ample grounds for optimism about the potential for a dynamic energy market with life-changing breakthroughs--because America once had exactly such a market.

“For most of the 1800s, an energy market existed unlike any we have seen in our lifetimes, a market devoid of government meddling. With every passing decade, consumers could buy cheaper, safer, and more convenient energy, thanks to continual breakthroughs in technology and efficiency – topped off by the discovery and mass availability of an alternative source of energy that, through its incredible cheapness and abundance, literally lengthened and improved the lives of nearly everyone in America and millions more around the world. That alternative energy was called petroleum. By studying the rise of oil, and the market in which it rose, we will see what a dynamic energy market looks like and what makes it possible. Many claim to want the ‘next oil’; to that end, what could be more important than understanding the conditions that gave rise to the first oil?”

The full article is being published as a series of posts on MasterResource, the leading free-market energy blog.
  
Alex Epstein is a fellow at the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights, focusing on business issues. He is the author of numerous articles on oil and energy, including, most recently: “Energy at the Speed of Thought: The Original Alternative Energy Industry.” Epstein is a frequent speaker at universities around the country, a frequent guest on nationally syndicated radio programs, as well as a guest panelist on the popular “Front Page” show on PJTV.com.

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