Posts Tagged ‘Supreme Court’

March for Life

January 24th, 2011 by John Feehery

2008 March for Life

For the last 37 years, on January 24th, thousands of people, mostly Catholics but some assorted others, have come to Washington D.C. and marched around the Capitol building, ending up right outside the Supreme Court.

They come every year to protest what must be one of the most controversial and unpopular decisions ever reached by that august body: Roe V. Wade.

The pastor of my parish church, Father Byrne reminded us yesterday that the marchers were coming to town. As usual, St. Peter’s, which is about a block from the Capitol, plays host to them, giving encouragement, shelter, food, drink and a place to use the restroom.

Byrne gave a nice homily at Mass, less fire and brimstone, and more about putting it all in perspective. His point is that Catholics should not care only about children before they are born. They should care about people at all stages of life, from beginning to end, and to have a proper respect and awe for the gift of life that has been bestowed to all of us breathing creatures. He made an important point that is frequently lost in this overheated debate: The job of the church is to convince desperate women who are hurting that they have other choices when they think that they have only one.

Video Games and the First Amendment

July 21st, 2010 by John Feehery

Postal - often considered the most violent video game on the market

Wouldn’t it be just wonderful if the Federal government could make our kids eat broccoli?  Wouldn’t it be perfect if the Feds could come in and tell little Johnny that he better take a bath or he is going to go to jail?  Wouldn’t it be nice if Congress could pass a law telling everybody under eighteen that they couldn’t watch television past 8 o’clock at night?

After all, studies show that broccoli is good for you, that being clean is essential to a long life, and that reading a book is better for your brain than watching television.

Since we all trust the government so much right now, it must be a great time to pass federal mandates to tell parents how to raise their children.  Now, parents should be happy about these mandates.  It gives them more leverage with their kids, right?

Wrong.  Most people would find this kind of government mandate to be a scary intrusion into their daily lives.  So why do so many people supposedly support the federal government’s mandates of video games?

Disclose Act

June 17th, 2010 by John Feehery

US Supreme Court / Photo credit: Jarek Tuszynski

In full disclosure, I think the Disclose Act is a complete joke, and it’s getting funnier.

What is the Disclose Act?

According to The Hill, the Disclose Act is “the Democratic response to a January Supreme Court ruling that overturns limits on spending by corporations and unions in political campaigns. It would tighten transparency requirements associated with corporate and union contributions, including forcing the CEOs of businesses to appear in ads funded by the company.”

The Disclose Act has been shepherded through the Congress by the two guys who are most responsible for electing Democrats to the House and Senate, Chris Van Hollen and Chuck Schumer.

This bill is not about high constitutional principles. It is not about protecting the freedom of the American people. And it is not about creating private sector jobs or cutting the deficit.

This legislation, as the Democratic sponsors would probably admit to you over a couple of drinks, is designed to give Democrats a better chance to win elections this year and into the future.

Wither the Protestant Elite

May 13th, 2010 by John Feehery

For the first time in our nation’s history – should Elena Kagan get confirmed by the United States Senate – not one Supreme Court Justice will be a mainline Protestant (or any kind of Protestant for that matter).

This is historically significant.

The first Catholic Supreme Court Justice was Roger Taney, who served on the Court from 1836 to 1864.  The second Catholic Supreme Court Justice was Edward White, who was sworn in 30 years later.

The first Jewish Supreme Court Justice was Louis Brandeis, who was not sworn in until 1916.

Historically speaking, about half of all Supreme Court Justices have been either Episcopalian or Presbyterian.  About a third of all Justices have hailed from the Episcopal Church.

It is actually pretty amazing that not one Protestant is on the Supreme Court today.

Mainline Protestant Churches haven’t fared that well in Congress lately either, at least from a leadership perspective.  In the House, both the Speaker and the House Minority Leader are Roman Catholic.  In the Senate, the Majority Leader is a Mormon and the Majority Whip is a Catholic.  Only one leader is Presbyterian and not one is Episcopalian.  There is one Jewish member of leadership, one Methodist, and the rest are Baptist.