(no subject)

[theweaselking]

US Supreme Court holds that Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the US Constitution is unconstitutional.

As expected, the court split directly down the middle on faith-based versus reality-based judges.

Comments

[graethorne.livejournal.com]

Here we go... setting up for the main event....

[dreamshade.livejournal.com]

The opinions seem to focus not on the establishment clause itself, but rather on the standing of the average taxpayer to sue. The opinions seem to state that suing the executive branch for misuse of funds in an unconstitutional manner is not an option open to taxpayers unless they can show direct, deliberate injury. So it's not so much that they hold the establishment clause as unconstitutional as they think that the executive branch can do whatever the fuck they want. Which is even scarier than the description you provided...

[kafziel.livejournal.com]

It just means that a non-faith-based organization denied funds by this program in favor of a faith-based one needs to bring suit.

[publius1.livejournal.com]

Jurisdictional issues, while much greyer and more...arcane? obscure?... than direct attacks on the consitutional issue at hand, can be used to perform much the same thing. Without suits, faith-baith initiatives stay, since Bush has already made clear that he's not going to get rid of them on his own terms. And if ordinary American citizens can't sue the government to get it stopped...........then who can?

[atlasimpure.livejournal.com]

I love that fact that on the same day that Roberts stated "in questions of free speech, the tie goes to the speaker" and then turns around and decides the Alaska tie in favor of the censor.