Is it just me, or are more Christians and conservatives defending themselves publicly and standing firm against the suppression of their views? Or are the mainstream media simply giving us more coverage?
Congressman Walter Jones of North Carolina spoke to the College Republicans at Duke University about real civil rights, as opposed to special rights. From the Herald Sun:
“If you cannot have the freedom to express yourself, and agree or disagree with a professor about an issue, then I’m afraid that academic freedom is in deep trouble,” Jones, R-3rd, told an audience of about 15 in a classroom of the university’s Biological Sciences Building.Jones, who’s from Farmville, spoke after accepting an award created in his name by the Duke College Republicans.
Second-year Duke law student John Plecnik, the College Republicans’ policy adviser, introduced the Walter B. Jones award, which will be awarded annually to “a politician, professor or protestor who best reflects his legacy” as the “chief defender of campus conservatives across Carolina.”
That a speech given to 15 people received coverage is surprising. That a speech given to 15 Republicans by a conservative Christian received objective coverage is amazing.
In addition to other incidents, Jones is making reference to liberal professor Elyse Crystall and her attempt to suppress the speech of a Christian student. Jones turned her in to the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education. Well-done. See this link for background.
Jones also discussed the tax-exemption issue involving non-profit organizations:
A 1954 legislative provision that then-senator and future President Lyndon B. Johnson inserted into a pending tax bill has since made it illegal for nonprofit organizations to engage in political activity, he said. This addition has been used in recent years to limit the speech of religious leaders in their places of worship, he said.“If [a religious leader] wanted to stand in front of the church and talk about the fact that the Bible said that marriage should be between one man and one woman…and that George Bush will be the man to protect that…he or she could have said that prior to 1954, he could have used the name of that candidate, but that was taken away from him,” Jones said.
While I don’t object to a politician discussing biblical matters in church, a problem arises when he uses the pulpit as a stump for political office the way white Democrats love to do in black churches. We’ve had several conversations about tax exemptions for churches on this blog. The latest is John Kerry and Jeremiah.
I think that’s enough fodder for today. Be well, everybody.
Unrelated Addendum: Rush is rolling tape on John Kerry’s statements on Saddam and WMDs from 2002 and 1998. Stark contrast. As if his supporters care anyway. I’ll try to track down the transcripts.
