Day: September 27, 2020
TRUMP NOMINATES AMY CONEY BARRETT TO REPLACE RUTH BADER GINSBURG ON SUPREME COURT
BY TYLER O'NEIL
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:
On Saturday, President Donald Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett, a law professor at Notre Dame and a judge at the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, to the Supreme Court seat vacated by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Trump commemorated Ginsburg before introducing Barrett.
“Today it is my honor to nominate one of our nation’s most brilliant and gifted legal minds to the Supreme Court. She is a woman of unparalleled achievement, towering intellect, sterling credentials, and unyielding loyalty to the Constitution, Judge Amy Coney Barrett,” Trump said. “Judge Barrett is a graduate of Rhodes College and the University of Notre Dame Law School,” he noted. She graduated the first in her class and edited the school’s law review.
Barrett clerked for the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and Trump introduced Scalia’s widow, Maureen.
“You are very eminently qualified for this job, you are going to be fantastic,” the president said to Barrett.
“If confirmed, Judge Barrett will be the first mother of school-age children ever to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court,” he added, introducing each of her seven children by name.
Trump joked, “I’m sure [her confirmation] will be extremely non-controversial.”
“I am deeply honored by the confidence you have placed in me,” Barrett told the president.
“I fully understand that this is a momentous decision for a president,” the nominee said. “I love the United States and I love the United States Constitution. I am truly humbled by the prospect of serving on the Supreme Court. Should I be confirmed, I will be mindful of the one who came before me.”
She noted that the flag is still at half-staff commemorating Ginsburg. “She not only broke glass ceilings, she smashed them.”
“Her life of public service serves as an example to us all,” Barrett said, noting Ginsburg’s close friendship with Antonin Scalia.
“Judges are not policymakers, and they must be resolute in setting aside any policy preferences they may hold,” she added.
Editor’s Note: Want to support PJ Media so we can expose and fight the Left’s radical plans for the Supreme Court? They will stop at nothing, so your support for conservative journalism is more important than ever. Join PJ Media VIP and use the promo code SCOTUS to get 25% off your VIP membership.
Amy Coney Barrett’s background
Amy Coney Barrett graduated from Notre Dame Law School first in her class. She has taught there for decades — and continues to teach there while serving as a judge on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. After graduation, she clerked at the Supreme Court for Justice Antonin Scalia. As Princeton professor Robert P. George noted, even fellow clerks who disagreed with Barrett admired her intellect. Harvard Law School professor Noah Feldman described her as “a brilliant lawyer.”
Barrett and her husband have seven children, ranging in age from 5 to 16. They adopted two of them from Haiti. One of her sons also has “special needs.” As George wrote, “As someone who excelled as a legal scholar and reached the pinnacle of her profession as a Supreme Court Justice, Barrett would be an example to women hoping to combine a flourishing family life with a professional vocation.”
Barrett is an originalist in the Scalia mold. Last year, she spoke about her judicial philosophy at the Washington, D.C., branch of my alma mater, Hillsdale College. She rebuked the notion of a “living Constitution,” arguing that the judge’s role is not to twist the text of the Constitution to fit his or her policy prescriptions but rather to interpret the law faithfully.
“If the judge is willing not to apply the law but to decide cases in a line, in accordance with personal preference rather than the law, then she’s not actually functioning as a judge at all. She’s functioning as a policymaker,” Barrett explained.
“And I would have had no interest in the job if the job was about policymaking and about making policy decisions,” the judge said. “My interest is in contributing to our tradition of judges upholding the rule of law.”
She also addressed the increasing political polarization centered on the Supreme Court.
“There’s a lot of talk these days about the courts being mere political institutions. But if we reduce the courts to mere politics, then why do we need them? We already have politicians. Courts are not arenas for politics. Courts are places where judges discharge the duty to uphold the rule of law,” Barrett said.
Yet the judge insisted that the Supreme Court is not partisan, not divided along the lines of Republicans and Democrats.
“So I don’t think that five-four decisions or splits on courts are explicable by partisan commitments or by outcomes in particular cases. I think they’re explicable by starting points, by first-order commitments. So there are differences in ways that judges approach the enterprise of interpreting the Constitution,” Barrett explained.
“All judges think that the original meaning of the Constitution—its history, the way that it was understood by those who ratified it, who drafted it, the founding generation—all judges take that as a data point, as relevant,” she said. “Those who are committed to originalism treat it as determinative when the original meaning is discernible. Others just treat it as a data point, but one that would not necessarily control.”
“Some judges approach the Constitution saying, ‘There are some constitutional commitments that we’re not going to back down from because the Constitution enshrines them. But with respect to those that the Constitution does not speak, we’re going to leave it to democratic majorities to work out.’ Others see the Constitution as having a more amorphous and evolving content and speaking to evolving values and majority—evolving values in ways that democratic majorities don’t have the freedom to make choices,” the judge explained.
5 Things to Know About Amy Coney Barrett
The long slog ahead
Amy Coney Barrett is likely to face a firestorm during any Senate confirmation hearings. During her confirmation hearing for the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) notoriously imposed something of a religious test. “The dogma lives loudly within you,” Feinstein said, suggesting that Barrett’s religious convictions disqualified her from service on the federal bench.
After Ginsburg’s death, some on the Left have rushed to demonize Barrett. Washington Post book critic Ray Charles suggested that there was something nefarious to Barrett’s statement that she intends to pursue “the kingdom of God.” On the contrary, the “kingdom of God” is a common Christian phrase that has more to do with loving your neighbor as yourself than bringing about some kind of theocracy.
Similarly, Newsweek ran a story claiming that Barrett belonged to a secret cult-like organization that inspired Margaret Atwood’s book The Handmaid’s Tale. In truth, the pentecostal group to which Barrett belonged, People of Praise, had no connection with People of Hope, the group Atwood seized upon. Newsweek corrected the story but did not retract it.
On Friday, HBO host Bill Maher called Barrett a “f***ing nut. Religion, I was right about that one, too.” Maher described Barrett as “really, really Catholic, like speaking in tongues.”
Barrett addressed the controversy last year at the Hillsdale event. She noted that “the religious test clause in the Constitution makes it unconstitutional to impose a religious test on anyone who holds public office. So whether someone is Catholic or Jewish or Evangelical or Muslim or has no faith at all is irrelevant to the job.”
Amy Coney Barrett Gave a Perfect Response to Anti-Religious Bigotry
“I do have one thing that I want to add to that, though. I think when you step back and you think about the debate about whether someone’s religion has any bearing on their fitness for office, it seems to me that the premise of the question is that people of faith would have a uniquely difficult time separating out their moral commitments from their obligation to apply the law. And I think people of faith should reject that premise,” she added.
“All people, of course– well, we hope, most people– have deeply held moral convictions, whether or not they come from faith. People who have no faith, people who are not religious, have deeply held moral convictions,” Barrett noted. “And it’s just as important for those people to be sure– I just spent time talking about the job of a judge being to set aside moral convictions, personal moral convictions, and personal preferences, and follow the law. That’s a challenge for those of faith and for those who have no faith.”
“So I think the public should be absolutely concerned about whether a nominee for judicial office will be willing and able to set aside personal preferences, be they moral, be they political, whatever convictions they are,” Barrett explained. “But that’s not a challenge just for religious people. I mean, that’s a challenge for everyone. And so I think it’s a dangerous road to go down to say that only religious people would not be able to separate out moral convictions from their duty.”
Barrett will face a firestorm of controversy, but she has proven that she can rise to the challenge.
Editor’s Note: Want to support PJ Media so we can expose and fight the Left’s radical plans for the Supreme Court? They will stop at nothing, so your support for conservative journalism is more important than ever. Join PJ Media VIP and use the promo code SCOTUS to get 25% off your VIP membership.
Tyler O’Neil is the author of Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Follow him on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil.
No, Amy Coney Barrett Doesn’t Belong to a Catholic Group That Inspired ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’
Trump Will Name One of These 12 People to the Supreme Court Next Week
Liberals Are Already Gearing Up to Attack the Notorious ACB… for This Common Christian Phrase
Blame the Left for Making the Supreme Court Too Political
ZOOM CANCELS JIHAD TERRORIST LEILA KHALED’S WEBINAR AT SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY
BY CHRISTINE DOUGLASS-WILLIAMS
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:
Zoom canceled Leila Khaled, not San Francisco State University. SFSU was ready to host her. SFSU should be held responsible for aiding and abetting jihad terror.
Leila Khaled does much more than simply engage in “offensive” speech. Being “offensive” is very different from inciting to violence and murder, or celebrating those who have participated in the commission of terror attacks.
Zoom’s decision to cancel Leila Khaled’s webinar at San Francisco State University demonstrates that Zoom is not giving preferential treatment to Muslims out of the prevailing political correctness and intimidation, and that violence and jihadist incitement to violence will not be tolerated. Kudos to Zoom.
“Zoom cancels Leila Khaled webinar at San Francisco State University,” Jerusalem Post, September 23, 2020:
Due to the concerted efforts of many lawyers and activists, Zoom has canceled a webinar hosted by San Francisco State University which was slated to feature Palestinian terrorist Leila Khaled as one of its guest speakers.
“Zoom is committed to supporting the open exchange of ideas and conversations, subject to certain limitations contained in our Terms of Service, including those related to user compliance with applicable US export control, sanctions, and anti-terrorism laws,” Zoom said in a statement, according to the Lawfare Project. The newly established #EndJewHatred movement was also involved in pressuring SFSU to prevent Khaled’s talk.
“In light of the speaker’s reported affiliation or membership in a US designated foreign terrorist organization, and SFSU’s inability to confirm otherwise, we determined the meeting is in violation of Zoom’s Terms of Service and told SFSU they may not use Zoom for this particular event,” the statement continued.
After the announcement by Zoom, Strategic Affairs Minister Orit Farkash-Hacohen tweeted: “Glad to see @Zoom_us preventing PFLP terrorist Leila Khaled from abusing its platform to spread her bigotry and calls for Jewish State’s destruction at a @SFSU event today. Tech companies need to uphold policies & protect the safety of all of its [sic] users against such hate-speech.”
Khaled, who as a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine hijacked El Al Flight 219 on September 6, 1970, was due to address an event hosted by SFSU’s Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas (AMED) study program, titled “Who’s Narratives? Gender, Justice and Resistance: a conversation with Leila Khaled,” on Wednesday, September 23.
SFSU rejected previous requests to withdraw the invitation, including a request made by Rodney Khazzam, a passenger on Flight 219 who almost lost his life when Khaled attempted to detonate a grenade while the plane was aloft. Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, president of Shurat HaDin, a Tel Aviv-based law firm that specializes in defending the right of the State of Israel to exist, has now written to the university on Khazzam’s behalf.
FLIGHT 219 was one of four planes hijacked that day by the PFLP, and the only one where the hijacking failed: Khaled’s coconspirator Patrick Argüello was killed by an air marshal, while Khaled was subdued and handed over to British authorities in London.
Three other planes were successfully diverted to Dawson’s Field, a remote desert airstrip in Jordan, where the 56 Jewish passengers were separated from non-Jews and held hostage.
Three days later a fifth plane was hijacked in an attempt to force authorities to release Khaled and other PFLP prisoners, and a deal was struck on September 30 which saw the hostages released in return for their freedom.
SFSU has come under criticism for antisemitism thanks to on-campus support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against the State of Israel, and other anti-Israel activities….
TURKEY: ERDOGAN URGES U.N. TO SET UP “INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY DAY AGAINST ISLAMOPHOBIA”, HITS LEGITIMIZING OF “HATE SPEECH”
BY CHRISTINE DOUGLASS-WILLIAMS
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:
Erdogan’s obvious agenda in urging the United Nations to establish an “International Solidarity Day Against Islamophobia” is to try to weaken and ultimately destroy the freedom of speech. This is clearly much more important to him than the atrocities that are being committed against the Uighur Muslim population in China. As far as he is concerned, insulting Muhammad is worse than actually killing Muslims.
Erdogan, who seeks to revive the Ottoman Empire, blamed “politicians who turn to populist rhetoric for the sake of votes” for this supposed increase in hate speech. “He warned against groups who, he said ‘legitimize hate speech by abusing the freedom of expression.'”
Before Erdogan made his absurd request, President Donald Trump and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro “urged the world to unite against ‘Christophobia,'” as an actual genocide of Christians is underway in Africa and the Middle East.
“Turkey’s Erdogan Demands U.N. Create ‘International Solidarity Day Against Islamophobia,’” by Frances Martel, Breitbart, September 22, 2020:
Islamist Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged the United Nations to establish “International Solidarity Day Against Islamophobia” during his speech at the General Assembly on Tuesday, claiming Muslims are the most vulnerable population to “racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, and hate speech.”
Erdogan did not mention the world’s largest systematic human rights atrocity against Muslims — the imprisoning of between 1 to 3 million Muslims in concentration camps in China — during his remarks. Prior to joining dictator Xi Jinping’s lucrative “Belt and Road Initiative,” a Chinese global infrastructure program, Erdogan had referred to the treatment of Muslims in China as “genocide,” but has not similarly condemned China for its abuses in a decade.
The absence of mention of the situation in Xinjiang, China’s westernmost province, was especially notable given that the Muslim population of Xinjiang is largely Turkic — Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and Kyrgyz people — and that Erdogan spoke immediately before Xi. Erdogan spoke after President Donald Trump and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who urged the world to unite against “Christophobia.”
Brazil traditionally opens the U.N. General Assembly followed by the host nation, America.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations. In addition to the hallmark anniversary, the General Assembly is functioning slightly differently this year due to travel restrictions and social distancing guidelines to contain the Chinese coronavirus. World leaders stayed in their home countries and addressed the chamber in New York virtually.
“Racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia and hate speech have reached an alarming level. In the course of the [Chinese coronavirus] pandemic, acts of violence against vulnerable people, especially migrants and asylum-seekers, accelerated while xenophobia and racism increased,” Erdogan claimed. “Muslims are the most exposed to these dangerous tendencies fueled by prejudice and ignorance.”
Erdogan, himself an Islamist populist politician, blamed “politicians who turn to populist rhetoric for the sake of votes” for this alleged rise in hate speech. He warned against groups who, he said “legitimize hate speech by abusing the freedom of expression.”
Under Erdogan, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) ranked Turkey the world’s number one jailer of journalists for three years in a row, 2016 to 2018. Xi’s China took the top spot from Turkey in 2019.
To fight this alleged racism and hate speech, Erdogan told the General Assembly that the United Nations should establish March 15 as the “International Solidarity Day Against Islamophobia.” March 15 is the anniversary of the 2019 mosque shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand.
“I reiterate my call for March 15, the day of the terrorist attack perpetrated in New Zealand against Muslims, to be declared by the United Nations as ‘International Solidarity Day Against Islamophobia,’” Erdogan said. “As the second largest international organization after the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation [OIC] has officially recognized this day.”…
Erdogan also had harsh words for the growing number of nations seeking peace with Israel. While he did not name them — the most recent nations to formalize diplomatic with Israel are Turkey’s neighbors Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — Erdogan called any move in the region less than the establishment of a Palestinian state “vain, one-sided, and unjust.”…
TRUMP, PENCE PRAY WITH THOUSANDS OF CHRISTIANS GATHERED IN D.C. FOR A DAY OF REPENTANCE
BY TYLER O'NEIL
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:
On Saturday, in the throes of America’s turbulent 2020 election, thousands of Christians gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for the inaugural National Day of Prayer and Return, a calling to repentance and prayer for healing.
Dueling rallies and worship services on either side of the Washington Monument attracted crowds of thousands. Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham held one rally with Vice President Mike Pence in front of the Lincoln Memorial Saturday afternoon, while Jonathan Chan and Kevin Jessup held “The Return” rally starting Friday night and continuing throughout Saturday in front of the U.S. Capitol building.
The rallies focused on a theme of repentance and prayer, rejecting sin and returning to God in turbulent times. Pence paraphrased 2 Chronicles 7:14, in which God promised King Solomon, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
“We stand today on an ancient promise that Americans have claimed throughout our history that if His people who are called by his name will humble themselves and pray and turn, He will do like he’s always done — through much more challenging times in the life of this nation — He’ll hear from Heaven and he’ll heal this land, this one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all,” Pence declared.
The vice president declared that prayer is a “great American tradition,” citing Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln and noting that “President Donald Trump has observed many times that America is a nation of believers, and you’ve proved that again today.”
Pence received loud cheers when he urged the audience to “pray for all of our justices on the Supreme Court, including the remarkable woman that the president will nominate to fill the seat on the Supreme Court later today.”
Amy Coney Barrett Gave a Perfect Response to Anti-Religious Bigotry
Trump’s statement
While the vice president spoke at Franklin Graham’s Prayer March 2020, leaders at The Return read remarks from President Donald Trump.
“On this inaugural National Day of Prayer and Return, the First Lady and I join millions of Christians here in the United States and around the world in prayer, as we turn our hearts to our Lord and Savior,” the president wrote in his statement.
“Our great Nation was founded by men and women of deep and abiding faith—a faith that has stood the test of time,” Trump added. He cited the Pilgrims’ faith in Providence. “Following in our ancestors’ footsteps we continue the ‘firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence’ that provides us enduring strength and reassurance in our times of need.”
“The trials and tribulations the American people have faced over the past several months have been great,” the president admitted. “Yet, as we have seen time and again, the resolve of our citizenry—fortified by our faith in God—has guided us through these hardships and helped to unite us as one Nation under God.”
“As we continue to combat the challenges ahead of us, we must remember the sage words of President George Washington during his first Presidential Address: ‘propitious smiles of heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained.’ As a country and a people, let us renew our commitment to these abiding and timeless principles,” the president added.
“Today, I am pleased to join my voice to yours in thanking God for blessing this nation with great power and responsibility. With reverence, humility, and thanksgiving, we beg for His continued guidance and protection,” Trump concluded.
Smithsonian Goes Full Marxist: Nuclear Family, Science, Christianity All Part of Oppressive ‘Whiteness’
Other key speakers
Speaking after his prayer march, Graham noted that “many thousands of people have come from all over the United States to participate and to pray.”
“I think we’re at a crucial point in this country. We’re that close to losing this nation, and there are people that are wanting to manipulate the direction of this country and we just pray that God may intervene,” Graham added. He warned that “God’s judgment may fall on us one day due to the evil of abortion. “We confess that to God and ask for His forgiveness. These laws that are wicked, that he would turn them in another direction.”
Former Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn.), Bishop Harry Jackson, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, Martin Luther King Jr.’s niece Alveda King, homeschooling advocate Sam Sorbo, and many more addressed the crowds. Bachmann, Jackson, King, and likely others addressed both crowds.
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council (FRC), prayed with Graham at the World War II memorial.
Darryl Strawberry, a black former MLB right fielder, prayed for Americans in front of the National Museum of African-American History and Culture.
“We pray for compassion, we pray for kindness, we pray for respect, we pray for reconciliation, Father. We pray for the violence to stop,” he prayed next to Franklin Graham. “We want to pray for us to unite together as people of race. Father, we have been divided, we have been torn apart by the enemy. We rebuke the divider right now in the name of Jesus!”
Alveda King, a pro-life activist, prayed, “Father, we have sinned or misunderstood or just on purpose thought that we are separate races. We are one human race. … Let us love life, … life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness from the womb to the tomb.”
Bishop Harry Jackson, speaking at The Return, noted that “the root of all sin is pride and independence.” He claimed that God has “allowed there to come four major problems”: the coronavirus, “which is like a plague of the Old Testament;” racial division, “which is all about pride and our being arrogant about who we are;” the #MeToo movement; and divisions on the basis of class.
While it is essential for Christians to confess our sins, humble ourselves, repent, and turn to God, it remains unclear whether or not God’s promise in 2 Chronicles 7:14 can apply to American Christians today. God made that promise to Solomon, the king of His chosen people. America is indeed a blessed nation, but it is not God’s chosen country. That said, a nationwide movement toward repentance and prayer is fitting. God can indeed heal the wounds in this country, and Christians are right to pray for this healing.
This massive event should bring hope to Christians looking for a revival in these turbulent times. It seems particularly remarkable that Trump, who in 2016 said he had no need to seek God’s repentance, would celebrate a prayer event centered on the theme of return and repentance.
The Prayer March was streamed live and The Return’s livestream is ongoing. Click here to see Graham’s march. Watch The Return below.
Tyler O’Neil is the author of Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Cen