Posted on 05/04/2007 3:02:08 PM PDT by forty_years
Is it the letter or spirit of the law? What about when you can't figure out either the letter or spirit of the law? I've read the text of the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, H.R. 1592, which passed the U.S. House yesterday. I'm not a legal expert, but the bill seems to codify the concept "race" -- i.e., "members of certain religious and national origin groups were and are perceived to be distinct 'races'." H.R. 1592 also specifies that a hate crime can be prosecuted on the basis of the victim's "real or perceived" race, "whether or not acting under color of law." Huh? Can race be defined? I thought true, open-minded evolution would lead us not to codify race, or single out only certain "races." We're all one human species, aren't we? It is 2007, right?
Robert Spencer at Jihad Watch points out that the pro-Islamist Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is celebrating the House's passage of H.R. 1592. I'm not really into guilt by association, but CAIR has been "quite successful" at silencing free speech, casting their opponents as "anti-Muslim," "Islamophobic," "bigoted," and "hateful." You know that CAIR has an army of high-priced (and Saudi-funded) lawyers pouring over the wording of this legislation. What bothers me is how the following sections/phrases will be construed in a court of law:
...Both at the time when the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the Constitution of the United States were adopted, and continuing to date, members of certain religious and national origin groups were and are perceived to be distinct 'races'. Thus, in order to eliminate, to the extent possible, the badges, incidents, and relics of slavery, it is necessary to prohibit assaults on the basis of real or perceived religions or national origins, at least to the extent such religions or national origins were regarded as races at the time of the adoption of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the Constitution of the United States. ......At the request of State, local, or Tribal law enforcement agency, the Attorney General may provide technical, forensic, prosecutorial, or any other form of assistance in the criminal investigation or prosecution of any crime that--is motivated by prejudice based on the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of the victim, or is a violation of the State, local, or Tribal hate crime laws. ...
...Whoever, whether or not acting under color of law, in any circumstance described in subparagraph (B), willfully causes bodily injury to any person or, through the use of fire, a firearm, or an explosive or incendiary device, attempts to cause bodily injury to any person, because of the actual or perceived religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability of any person...
WorldNetDaily opines:
...about the misuse of "hate crimes" laws that give those claiming "sexual orientation" or "gender identity" discrimination special legal rights, pointing out that such a maneuver recently was used, as WND has reported, by the Hindu American Foundation to label a long list of Christian ministry websites who promote Christian beliefs and offer the choice of those beliefs to those involved in other religions as "hate speech." ...
Apparently, some Hindu group got upset with a Christian website for advising against practicing yoga. The Hindus branded the Christian site a "hate site:"
...Jan Markell, who has been with the Olive Tree Ministries since 1977, has written eight books and hundreds of articles about Christians and their beliefs, at first wondered why she would be listed among ministries hated by a Hindu organization.Then she remembered a series of articles warning Christians against participating in yoga, a Hindu form of worship. ...
What's next, the silencing of the blogsphere, as in current-day Iran?
Whoever said freedom would last forever? Someday we’re all going to be screwed. All we can do is try and hold it off for as long as possible.
“National origin” as race, now. I saw this last weekend on BookTV (CSPAN-2), some leftard was claiming that the anti-French comments in the US around the time of the Iraq war runup were due to “racism.” My jaw dropped, since when are the French a “race?” This is part of the leftard balkanization of everyone into small enough groups to count as some kind of “victim” needing their socialist succor.
Conservatives read Orwell’s ‘1984’’ and took it as a warning. Liberals read it and used it as a blueprint.
Behold The Future.
- Daniel Webster, 1851
Worst still, the Bush administration believes that failure to provide services to someone because you don’t understand Persian or Farsi constitutes National-Origins discrimination.
The following is a reprint of the DOJ’s Guidelines for dealing with People with Limited English Proficiency (LEP).
http://www.proenglish.org/issues/13166/dojguidelines.html
“This policy guidance... addresses the application of Title VI’s prohibition on national origin discrimination when information is provided only in English to persons with limited English proficiency.”
(Mind you, no less than Sen Edward Kennedy insisted in the original hearings on the Civil Rights Act that “national origins” meant what country you were from. Now it means what language you speak!)
“It addresses the application to recipients of federal financial assistance of Title VI’s prohibition on national origin discrimination when information is provided only in English to persons who do not understand English.”
“A federal aid recipient’s failure to assure that people who are not proficient in English can effectively participate in and benefit from programs and activities may constitute national origin discrimination prohibited by Title VI.”
“These regulations prohibit recipients from “restrict[ing] an individual in any way in the enjoyment of any advantage or privilege enjoyed by others receiving any service, financial aid, or other benefit under the program””
“It has been considered in contexts as varied as what languages drivers’ license tests must be given in or whether material relating to unemployment benefits must be given in a language other than English. [and, through Medicare and Medicaid, all medicial information and treatment, except at facilities which refuse services to Medicare and Medicaid recipients!]”
” Programs that serve a few or even one LEP person are still subject to the Title VI obligation to take reasonable steps to provide meaningful opportunities for access.”
Try these on for size:
The Methodist race, the Quaker race, the Voodoo race, the Greek Orthodox race. Hmmm.... doesn't seem to work.
OK, national origin: the Australian race, the American race, the Italian race, the Kenyan race, the Qatari race, the Nepali race, the Chinese race. No, not those either.
OK, what about "the Muslim race"? "The Arab race"? "The Palestinean race"?
Yes, there we go. Those fit perfectly.
Thank you United States Congress for redefining Webster's and the Oxford English Dictionary.
>> “National origin” as race, now. I saw this last weekend on BookTV (CSPAN-2), some leftard was claiming that the anti-French comments in the US around the time of the Iraq war runup were due to “racism.” <<
Besides, my ancestors were French, and I slammed on them hard.
Does this mean that Keith Olbermann could get arrested?
Of course race exists. Open mindedness shouldn’t extend to the level of liberal political correctness and pushing evolution propoganda. Non-whites should not be treated to preferential treatment because of their skin color (something that is all too common nowadays). I’m glad President Bush will veto this anti-white racist bill.
The gaul of some people. :o)
LOL!
LOL, good one.
ping
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