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Mediaite.com:
Ted Cruz spoke at Liberty University today and
talked at some length about how big the threat against religious freedom
is in the United States. He railed against the IRS and spoke up in
support of Hobby Lobby, declaring that “religious liberty’s never been
more under assault.”
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Cruz brought up an Air Force chaplain who got in trouble for saying
there are no atheists in foxholes. Cruz laughingly asked if it’s not supposed to be the job of a chaplain “to be insensitive to atheists.”
He railed against the government forcing groups like Hobby Lobby and
Little Sisters of the Poor to “violate their religious beliefs,” which
he found especially ironic because of how Pilgrims came to the U.S. to
begin with to flee religious persecution. He told the audience that
there needs to be a call to action where people of faith should “stand
and speak, no matter what the consequence.”
RELATED: Kindergartner Allegedly Told to Stop Praying at Lunch
HotAir.com:
Can a public official mention Jesus at an official meeting? According to
a federal judge in Maryland, the answer is no. According to Carroll
County commissioner Robin Frazier, it’s yes — and she’s willing to go to jail to defend what she sees is her right to free speech and religious expression:
“Out of respect for my colleagues — I’m not sure how
strongly they feel about it. I’m willing to go to jail over it,” Frazier
said during the meeting, referring to Jesus Christ twice despite the
ruling.
“(Let) the Lord Jesus Christ to admit me to render these deserved
thanks and praises for thy manifold mercies extended toward me. Let thy
blessings guide this day, and forever, through Jesus Christ and his
blessed form of prayer, I conclude my weak petitions,” she said during
the meeting.
After receiving complaints, some Carroll County residents and a group
called American Humanist Association issued a warning to the board
about “sectarian prayer” during meetings in 2012 and then followed up
with a lawsuit in April 2013.
“After the judge has already agreed with us that that’s what’s going
on, I think it’s particularly troubling that one of the council members
saw fit to violate not only the Constitution but the judge’s very
specifically ruling that they can’t be doing this,” said Monica Miller,
an attorney for the American Humanist Association.
This fellow seemed to have the best take on the situation:
“My concern is, really, who cares? If they say Jesus, I mean, does it really offend anybody?” questioned resident Brian Resch.
The question is really this: do people have a right to be free from
offense at board meetings? After all, Carroll County isn’t establishing a
“county religion” by having one of its members pray openly. No one
else’s rights to faith or lack thereof have been infringed; the local
government isn’t taking roll at the local church to make sure everyone
attends. The imposition of silence on religious expression by the
judiciary, fueled by those who simply cannot abide the expression of
faith, causes more egregious damage toward liberty than a prayer at a
board meeting or school graduation does.
There is no doubt that Frazier’s act is deliberately provocative, and
one can debate whether that’s an effective witness to faith or not in
terms of charity and goodwill. However, isn’t the remedy at hand the
next election, rather than a gag order from the federal government?
RELATED: MI union contract gives “special consideration” to “non-Christian” teachers
Townhall.com:
A jury in North Carolina on Thursday found
that the University of North Carolina-Wilmington retaliated against
criminology professor Dr. Mike Adams for his political and social views.
Adams, a Townhall columnist, explained last year
that despite his track record of success at the university in terms of
teaching, research and service, he was denied a promotion to full
professor because of the views he advanced in his opinion columns. He
described the promotion process as being “replete with procedural
irregularities and with direct criticism of [his] columns and [his]
beliefs.”
The ACLJ, who represented Adams along with Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Travis Barham, explains further:
When Dr. Adams submitted his application for full professor,
university officials rejected it through the use of a
completely-fabricated promotion standard, passed along false and
misleading information about his academic record, explicitly considered
the content of his protected speech in promotion documents, and –
incredibly – allowed a professor who’d filed a false criminal complaint
against Dr. Adams to cast a vote against his application.
“[N]o individual loses his ability to speak as a private citizen by
virtue of public employment,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th
Circuit wrote in 2011. “Adams’ columns addressed topics such as
academic freedom, civil rights, campus culture, sex, feminism, abortion,
homosexuality, religion, and morality. Such topics plainly touched on
issues of public, rather than private, concern.”
The university hired Adams, a former atheist, in 1993 as an assistant
professor, and promoted him to associate professor in 1998. The
“campaign of academic persecution that culminated in his denial of
promotion to full professor” began when he converted to Christianity in
2000, which greatly influenced his views on social and political issues.
“We are grateful that the jury today reaffirmed the fundamental
principle that universities are a marketplace of ideas, not a place
where professors face retaliation for having a different view than
university officials,” Barham said.
“The jury saw what we have long known to be true about the wrong done to Dr. Adams,” said
Senior Legal Counsel David Hacker. “The verdict is a powerful message
for academic freedom and free speech at America’s public universities.”
Update: According to the ACLJ, the verdict was only for liability. The judge will later decide Adams' relief.
RELATED: Teachers Union Contract Gave "Special Consideration" to Non-Christians
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