Falwell opens law school to train fundamentalists to interpret laws.

[madfloridian]

This is info from the recent letter from Howard Dean and DFA.

SNIP...."Jerry Falwell has a lot to say. Falwell is the fundamentalist who opened the Republican National Convention in 2000 (the GOP kept him under lock-and-key this time around). He asserts that the AIDS crisis is "God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals."

Now he has started a law school. The purpose: to train fundamentalists to ignore laws they don't support and reinterpret others to enforce their radical agenda. The "school" is only the latest move in a monumental power play by the extreme right wing. They have taken over the Republican Party - and have set their sights on every branch of our government...."END SNIP

Dean's solution is to support candidates who will fight this kind of thing.
https://secure.democracyforamerica.com/modules/contribution/contribute.php

Here is an article about this from the Dallas Morning News.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/washington/stories/082504dnnatlibertylaw.5b61.html

Why are these men hugging? Falwell and Moon.

[Kanary]

1. We have sooooo much catching up to do.

Dang, how did we let this loon get this far???

Part of the solution will be for ALL of us to become more astute and capable in protecting our constitution.

sigh....... boy, do we have our work cut out for us......

Kanary

[darknesstolight]

2. Mala prohibita

Will it be mala prohibita ? Just curios as you may know there are two types of laws mala proibita and mala in se. What will be the focus?

[dpibel]

31. Why are you curious?

If they were really interested in the distinction, I'd expect them to argue that laws generally regarded as malum prohibitum are actually malum in se. The logic would be that the laws set forth in the Bible are God's laws, hence set before the foundations of the earth, hence malum in se.

Since malum is malum and illegal is illegal, I can't imagine why anyone would spend a great deal of time on the issue, anyway. I can even less imagine any law school having such a study as its "focus."

Which is to say: Yeah, I know what malum in se and malum prohibitum mean without looking it up.

Other than that, what's your point?

[Cobalt Violet]

3. Were in trouble.

If they interpret our laws anyway like they interpret the bible, We're screwed.

[TaleWgnDg]

10. exactly . . . which is what is happening now as

GWBush is packing the federal courts with off-the-wall rightwing ideologues! I kid you not. It's happening now . . .

. . . . . .

I wrote a long email more than a year ago . . . to some friends. The email ended up posted on an irc website . . . it's concerning GWBush's efforts to pack our federal courts, change our federal and state laws by packing the courts . . . and it will be a done-deal if he gets elected this November 04. If you want to read it, despite it being somewhat "dated" here's the url:

http://www.newsgarden.org/columns/TaleWgnDgcolumns.shtml
(again, this is not my website . . . someone else posted it there)

[jean]

4. Howard Dean is like a laser - he's got an excellent organization in place

to help us beat back these zealots.

We contributed, as he asked, and took a look at our own state to see what candidate(s) he recommends we help bolster.

[serryjw]

5. I nominate Dean for DNC chair....Who would like to 2nd it?

It's a perfect job for him!

[Kanary]

6. I'll second that!

Except... he has so much energy, he wouldn't be in that "chair" much. :)

Wouldn't that be great to have someone outspoken, energetic, and on target as DNC chair???!!!

sigh........

Isn't it about time we got a functional party?

onward and upward, serryjw!

:hi:

Kanary

[christeline1]

19. I agree too!

Yes. I would love for him to convince Kerry we need to get out Iraq as soon as possible. It's such a loser war.

[Kanary]

23. Hi, christeline1!

:hi: :hi: :hi:

Welcome to DU!

:toast:

We'll need Kucinich, Sharpton, Mosely-Braun as well as Dean et al to all keep Kerry's feet to the fire!

Kanary

[christeline1]

25. Thank you!

Yes. That would be great. I don't see why we should be continuing to occupy Iraq. This was a failed mission based on the misleading lies of an untruthful President. We have nothing to gain by being there any longer.

[Kanary]

26. I couldn't agree with you more......... but then,

I was a Kucinich supporter waaay back, so my views haven't changed. :hi:

Not to mention, I lived through the Vietnam years, and this is a friggin' replay..... I just want to see the last helicopters taking off. sigh......

Kanary

[christeline1]

28. Yeah, let Iraq handle their own problems.

They don't appreciate us anyway - just like North Vietnam didn't. If they let the terrorists roam their country, then why should we care?

[Kanary]

32. uh, christeline, you're going off in a direction that isn't

sounding very charitable.

*We're* the ones who wrecked their country, not the other way around.

I question what your view *really* is.

Kanary

[christeline1]

36. No need to question.

No need to question what my view is. I'm sorry if it sounds cold. My only point was that it was a mess before we got there, and it's a mess now. I don't think we can do anything to help the situation, so I think we should get out. We are becoming nothing more than occupiers at this point, and we'll probably have another 1000 soldiers dead in the next six months.

[Blue Wally]

34. NO

You don't want an ideologue as DNC chair. You want a really good technician who keeps things running while the ideologues hammer out a party consensus. Think someone like Lawrence O'Brien who was DNC chair quite a while ago.

[TaleWgnDg]

7. yes, I heard about Falwell's "law school" . . . hell,

it's not bad enough that the founder (Tom Monaghan, an ultra rightwing nutcase) of Domino's Pizza started an ultra rightwing law school somewhere in Michigan . . . oh, no! Ave Maria Law School! Where law students are taught that Jesus Christ is America's law. Clarence Thomas was its first commencement speaker!!

Now, one of the other rightwing fools - Falwell - wants to make more money off of illiterate rightwingers too?

I have only one question to all this stupidity: How the hell can the ABA accredit these cesspools?

edited to add:

[madfloridian]

8. Is there really an Ave Maria Law School...or are you kidding.

This is out of control, and I did not even know about it until we got Dean's letter. We contribute a lot to the group as they give it out to the candidates in turn. We also contribute to some candidates of choice.

This is the only way we will fight this kind of stuff.

[jean]

9. yes, there is - here's the site

http://www.avemarialaw.edu/home.cfm

located in Ann Arbor, MI.

OM goodness! Take a look - I think that's Ken Starr in the pix on the home page

Also: 'First Ave Maria graduating class tops all other Michigan law schools on bar exam'

[TaleWgnDg]

13. no, I am not kidding. I wish I were kidding . . .

as I said the person who started Domino's Pizza, Tom Monaghan, an ultra rightwing nutcase also founded Ave Maria Law School. Monaghan's quoted rationale for founding this ultra-"conservative" Roman Catholic law school was because Jesus Christ was not taught in law school. Again, I kid you not. Monaghan has stated that Roman Catholic law schools such as Boston College Law School, Georgetown University Law School do not teach (ultra-rightwing) law teachings, are too "liberal" and far removed from Christ's "legal" teachings . . . shall I continue?

Clarence Thomas frequents this Ave Maria Law School (which is why some members of the bar call Justice Thomas, "Cardinal Thomas.") . . . Judge Bork taught as this law school a while back and I don't know if Bork still teaches there.

edited for typo errors.

[fujiyama]

16. "How the hell can the ABA accredit these cesspools?"

I was about to ask the same thing.

ARE they accredited in the first place? Some say the ABA is liberal. Have they rolled over the last several years?

The idea of these people interpreting the constitution is very disturbing.

[TaleWgnDg]

20. no, the ABA is neither "liberal" or "conservative" . . .

instead it sets a certain objective standard to achieve ABA accreditation. I dunno if the ABA website explains this . . . but there's a section (a membership division) of the ABA dedicated solely to law school accreditation. And, of course, there's a separate body w/i ABA that scrutinizes the accreditation process.

Try their website: http://www.abanet.org/home.cfm

edited to add: here ya go, try this http://www.abanet.org/legaled/accreditation/acinfo.html

[xxqqqzme]

29. that was also my first

question when I heard about this 'law' school - what about accreditation? or will they rely on the American Heritage Foundation? since they R recommending nominees for judicial vacancies.

[crispini]

11. This is why

I am going to law school next year. ( IF I can get in. :D ) To counterbalance at least one freeper lawyer.

[Red_Viking]

15. Good luck to you! Let us know how it goes.

I'm a 1L, just finishing week 4 of my first semester. I'm probably in a little different position than you are--I left the corporate world after 13 years to return to school. It's quite demanding, but I'm having a great time. I've already learned so much.

You can get in to law school. And it's well worth it.

Let's all go out there and stick it to The Man! :P

Best wishes--get some sleep now while you still can--

RV

[ComerPerro]

12. So, in his law schol, will he be teaching people

That we were attacked on 9/11 to punish us for homosexuals and liberalism and interracial marriage, among other things?

[TaleWgnDg]

14. frankly, it would go farther back in law that merely homophobia crap

. . . its their stated intention to reverse the entire privacy prong of stare decisis (law cases going back for years and years) . . . which would deprive America of Roe v. Wade, condom distribution, reinstate sodomy laws . . . and that's a mere tip of the iceberg as to "morality issues" as they cast it.

It's damn serious stuff. I cannot state it too strongly.




edited to add: and, btw, there's already an ultra-conservative (rightwing) law school "out there" that's been in existence for many years: Brigham Young University School of Law (Mormon).

[fujiyama]

18. I thought

the University of Chicago was pretty conservative and was home of the law and economics or something like that. Granted the school may have been more libertarian than conservative in social areas as well.

Didn't Milton Friedman teach there (though he was in the economics dept)?

[TaleWgnDg]

27. oh, you are talking about the "Chicago School of Economics" or

some such thing. Yes, for years Chicago was the site of conservative economics; however, as the country has shifted farther and farther to the right, Chicago isn't as "right" as it once was.

I could be dead wrong, here, since I am completely out of my element. Perhaps someone else could assist?

. . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . the 5 justices reveal themselves in Bush v. Gore

[fujiyama]

33. You're probably right...

I'm not sure how conservative the school is overall (though I doubt that the student body is very conservative). I heard it's a quirky school in many ways...very unique...and a very intellectually intense environment.

I know that Ashcroft went to Law School there. I'm not sure about any of the SC justices though.

Oddly enough I also remember hearing that UC Berkeley's Boalt School of Law is sort of conservative.

[BrotherBuzz]

17. We're really in trouble when....

one of these yahoos gets appointed to the Supreme Court! Hell, any bench for that matter.

[JDPriestly]

21. But will the grads be able to pass the Bar?

Falwellites and other extreme fundamentalist Christians aren't just conservative. They are true believers, i.e., they don't ask questions, they just memorize answers. Learning law is very different from memorizing Bible verses. Lawyers have to be identify the legal issues in a factual pattern. By definition, lawyers have to question. That will be tough for Falwellites.

[TaleWgnDg]

24. yes and no . . .

I've run into some damn rigid stereotypes on the opposing side when I've represented, say, a gay kid, or a gay adult fighting for child custody, adoption, or whatever.

Law school teaches critical thinking and applies that upon the structure of law. Hence if you "favor" "natural law" based in "moralities" then, hey, you present that area which is what the Falwells will be taught as law. I must say, however, that those types of lawyers are just as rigid in their "interpretation of law" as they are of their bible studies.

I'd use a few expletive deleteds but . . . instead of all that . . . vote for Kerry. And, do vote for Democrats to the U.S. Senate too since it is they who "advise and consent" the federal judicial bench as the sitting president nominates.

. . . .

[strategery blunder]

22. This is a gem

He asserts that the AIDS crisis is "God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals."

Hmm...AIDS is also transmitted by contaminated blood transfusions and mother-to-child during childbirth. But what about the sanctity of human life? Isn't AIDS aborting the baby? Isn't AIDS baby-killing?:eyes::eyes::eyes:

Evil Pharisee hypocrites.:grr::mad:

[pacalo]

30. Have faith...

The coWard-in-chief's policies are so far out that both Republicans & Democrats have had their fill of neo-con philosophy. Falwell is a dying breed.

[ComerPerro]

35. But I am curious, don't you have to be able to use logic to be a lawyer?

And, aren't fundies completely incapable of doing so?