Leftist Law School Intolerance

A Christian law student club sues UC Hastings over the school's homosexual membership policy. Hastings, a government funded law school in San Francisco, won't afford the Christian club official recognition unless it allows practicing homosexuals to become members and officers.

"UC Hastings has apparently decided to withdraw itself from the 'marketplace of ideas,'" said ADF Chief Counsel Benjamin Bull. "What’s next? Will they require a vegetarian club to admit meat-eaters or a Democratic Party student group to admit Republicans?"

"Permitting people to join HCF [Hasting Christian Fellowship -- sic]who disagree with the group’s beliefs and goals would contradict and undermine their purpose,” Bull added. "The Supreme Court has ruled repeatedly that student organizations have the right to determine their own membership."

Signs That the "Catholic Democrat" Will Soon Be an Endangered Species

From Colleen Carroll Campbell:

Election-year polls have shown Catholic support about evenly split between Kerry and President George W. Bush, with churchgoing Catholics favoring Bush and those who rarely attend Mass preferring Kerry.

But other polls suggest that Bush may be pulling ahead among Catholic voters as a whole. In midsummer, Zogby International pollsters began seeing a significant Catholic shift toward the president in such swing states as Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania. Zogby senior political writer Fritz Wenzel told the Catholic News Service that increased attention on Kerry's pro-abortion policies combined with strong pro-life networks in those swing states was making the difference for Bush. The numbers show "concern about the legitimacy of the war in Iraq being overridden by ongoing discomfort with Kerry's stand on abortion," Wenzel said.

By the end of September, the difference was obvious to pollsters at the Barna Research Group, who found a "seismic shift" in support for the President among Catholics. In May, Kerry had led Bush 48 percent to 43 percent among Catholic voters. Late last month, a 22-point shift had put Bush in the lead, with 53 percent of Catholic voters supporting him and just 36 percent backing Kerry. Survey director George Barna said many of Bush's Catholic supporters "have traditionally voted Democratic, but have chosen a different course this time around."

The numbers remain in flux and conclusions are premature. A new Zogby poll suggests that Kerry may be regaining a slight edge among Catholics, though white Catholics — who tend to vote in greater numbers — continue to favor Bush. The race for the Catholic vote may be too close to call, but the fact that a Catholic Democrat running for president has failed to lock in the Catholic vote at this late stage should worry Kerry's team — and buoy the Bush camp.

Not Your Mao's China Anymore

The world's best fried chicken wings hits China via Hooters.

The Off-Centered Mind of Jimmah

QandO points out this little gem from a Chris Matthews interview of ex-Presidente Jimmy Carter:

MATTHEWS: Let me ask you the question about—this is going to cause some trouble with people—but as an historian now and studying the Revolutionary War as it was fought out in the South in those last years of the War, insurgency against a powerful British force, do you see any parallels between the fighting that we did on our side and the fighting that is going on in Iraq today?

CARTER: Well, one parallel is that the Revolutionary War, more than any other war up until recently, has been the most bloody war we‘ve fought. I think another parallel is that in some ways the Revolutionary War could have been avoided. It was an unnecessary war. Had the British Parliament been a little more sensitive to the colonial‘s really legitimate complaints and requests the war could have been avoided completely, and of course now we would have been a free country now as is Canada and India and Australia, having gotten our independence in a nonviolent way.

As QandO points out, Canada, India and Australia didn't effectively become independent until the 20th century. And the claim about the Revolutionary War and War on Terror being the most bloody wars the US has ever fought is just plain wrong. Yes, I do believe Jimmah has been smoking a few too many peanut plants.

High Hopes Dashed From Lack of Cash

The unfortunate and abrupt ending of Campion College in San Francisco:

In late July Campion College, San Francisco's upstart Catholic college, announced that it was shutting its doors after two years of operations. Citing the decision of Guadalupe Associates to cease their funding of the college and an inability to raise alternative funding, the college informed the archdiocese of San Francisco that it had no choice but to cancel classes for the fall semester.

Campion College was conceived by Jesuit Father Joseph Fessio in February of 2002, following the well-publicized gutting of the University of San Francisco's Saint Ignatius Institute. The idea for an authentically Catholic, two-year liberal arts college had been discussed by Fessio and John Galten, the former director of the Ignatius Institute, a number of years ago, but it remained in the discussion stage until the Jesuits moved on the institute, leaving a void in Bay Area Catholic higher education.

Under the umbrella of the Guadalupe Associates, the parent organization to Ignatius Press, a curriculum was drafted, administration positions filled, and faculty hired, all under Father Fessio's direction.

(...)

When the Guadalupe Associates board unanimously decided to sever its funding relationship to Campion College, Galten, who is a voting member of the Guadalupe board, was on the East Coast on a combination vacation and student recruitment trip. "I knew that there was going to be a planning meeting to discuss matters for the future," said Galten. "They knew that I was going to be away. I guess that matters came up at that meeting. I was not aware that the fate of Campion College might be discussed."

While the meeting without Galten and the lack of warning to either the faculty or students takes on a darkly conspiratorial note to some involved, Brumley insists that the board did not go into that meeting with a premeditated intention to cut funding. According to Brumley, "[while] over the past year, we had concerns, it was really at the end of May that it became clear [that there was a crisis]. A couple of factors: we were unable to recruit a sufficient number of students. We only had two for the fall who were committed. We needed to see ten students for Campion to be viable. That would be one factor. We had a few students who had told us that they were not returning, and many of the students who were returning were not in a position to contribute much more financially. Third was the overall financial strain that Campion was posing to Ignatius Press."

One father of a Campion student (who asked not to be named) discounted this, noting that a responsible business should have been able to see the budget and recruitment problems no later than December of 2003, when a decision to discontinue funding would have left faculty and students adequate time to make other plans. Furthermore, he added, "I had never heard that we should be looking out for money. They asked those of us on financial aid to let the college know if our financial situation changed, but there was no importuning for us to seek outside donations to help the college financially."

Terrorist Enablers and Sympathizers

Proving once again that they are even kookier than their ideological brethren on the kooky Left, the ACLU turns down $1.15 million in funding from the abortion loving Ford and Rockefeller foundations. Why? Because both of these institutions have expressly said that their money can't be used for anything that encourages or facilitates terrorism.

UBL is Dead and Both Bush and Kerry Know It

So speculates (fairly persuasively IMO) Matthew Heidt at Froggy Ruminations. I especially like the insights on why Bush won't mention that UBL is pushing up daisies, despite the fact that doing so would easily put him over the top in the race for the presidency, and how Kerry is trying to shamelessly exploit Bush's restraint for his own political advantage. (link via Powerline)

Al Presseera Strikes Again

Despite numerous other news sources reporting that well over 60% of the military and their families have a favorable opinion of President Bush, the AP ignores this fact altogether in a "report" on a poll which finds that 62% of the military think that more troops should have been sent to Iraq. QandO provides more details and commentary.

Let It Never Be Forgotten

That a monster was removed.

A mass grave containing the bodies of children, babies and their mothers has been unearthed in Iraq.

Shocked investigators reported finding "thighbones the size of matchsticks" at what they believe is the site of one of Saddam Hussein's atrocities. Among the findings-were the skeletons of unborn babies and toddlers clutching toys.

A baby had been shot in the back of its head and was found still being clutched by its mother, who had been shot in the face. The discovery was reported as Tony Blair came under mounting pressure to apologise to Parliament for the misleading intelligence claiming Saddam had weapons of mass destruction.

Job Interview With Gigante Law Firm

I've actually always tried to avoid working for a large firm, and at the time I sent in my resume to the one I'll be interviewing with next week, I had no idea they had well over 100 attorneys and offices in San Fran, L.A., New York and Hong Kong. Yikes! Anyway, since this firm has expressed an interest in talking to me, I figure I may as well see if I can impress them enough to maybe offer me a job.

FCC Commissioner Admits MSM Has Liberal Bias

In his unwarranted criticism of the Sinclair Broadcast Group's decision to air an anti-Kerry program on 60 of its local stations, FCC Commissioner Michael Copps effectively admits that shows like Nightline have a left-wing political bias. I tried doing a Google search to see if Copps ever criticized Nightline, but wasn't able to come up with anything.

Update: Go here for the official Stolen Honor documentary website.

Contraception Brownshirts

Devout Catholic pharmacist refuses to fill a college student's prescription for birth control pills. Militant college student can't wait another day or two to have intercourse, so she calls the police and eventually forces the pharmacist to defend himself in front of a state licensing board.

Lots of Smoke in the City

I noticed it when I walked outside this afternoon, and wondered where it was coming from. Now I know.

John Kerry for Antichrist

The Walking Hairdo makes the case as explained by Mark Shea.

The SCOTUS Will Review Ten Commandments Monument Cases

And in reporting this fact, the Al Presseera (via "reporter" Gina Holland) once again reveals its leftist bias and ignorance.

Examples:

The Constitution bars any state "establishment" of religion. That means the government cannot promote religion in general, or favor one faith over another.

No, the Constitution expressly prohibits Congress from establishing religion. And I will buy Ms. Holland a dozen Krispy Kreme Doughnuts if she can point out where the Constitution says the government cannot promote religion or show favoritism toward one faith over another.

The lawyer for the Kentucky counties, Mathew Staver of the conservative law group Liberty Counsel, told justices that lower courts are fractured on the issue. A divided appeals court panel sided with the American Civil Liberties Union in the Kentucky case.

Interesting how the Liberty Counsel is explicitly described by the AP as "conservative" but the ACLU avoids getting tagged with the "liberal" designation.

The Rev. Barry W. Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State said Tuesday that he hopes the court uses the cases to declare government displays of religious documents and symbols unconstitutional.

"It's clear that the Ten Commandments is a religious document. Its display is appropriate in houses of worship but not at the seat of government," Lynn said.

Why is the "Rev." Barry Lynn the only one in the whole "report" who gets directly quoted? And again notice that even though Americans United is a clearly leftist organization, the AP avoids describing it as such.

More Vatican Ignorance

And so in addition to being pretty clueless about American sensibilities and putting undeserved faith in an unaccountable and corrupt organization like the United Nations, the Vatican tries to "bury the hatchet" with Tony Blair and President Bush by analogizing post-war reconstruction efforts in Iraq to an illegitimate child who must be educated and reared.

With all due respect Cardinal Sodano: Shat up!

Update: Great take on Cardinal Sodano's unfortunate choice of words by The Mighty Barrister. Kind of makes you think that perhaps Sodano would have preferred that Saddam had stayed in power.

Morbid Musing

This past weekend, philosopher Jacques Derrida , actor Christopher Reeve, and former Major League Baseball player and MVP Ken Caminiti passed away. Kind of odd how celebrities, or relatively well know people, seem to always die in threes.

Kerry's Consistent Inconsistency

On the issue of requiring parental notification before allowing a minor to obtain an abortion, Kerry during last Friday's debate said he was against it because he didn't want "to require a 16 or 17 year old kid who's been raped by her father and who's pregnant to have to notify her father." The big problem with Kerry's rationale, however, is that he has voted against notification proposals that made an exception for the very type of scenario that he raised.

Bombshell

Drudge obtains an internal memo which confirms what most people with half a brain and not drinking the MSM's Kool Aid already know: there is a liberal bias at ABC News.

Maybe He Meant the Cambodia Marathon

Much like John Kerry's Christmas in Cambodia story, there is no evidence that supports Kerry's claim that he ever ran the Boston Marathon.

President Bush, on the other hand, has run many races, including the Houston Marathon. (link via Michelle Malkin)