Bong Hits 4 Jesus??
Just when I thought I had a clue.
I couldn't help but be fascinated when I first read about the SCOTUS case apparently coming around on the turntable tomorrow. That case involves a Juneau, Alaska HS student perhaps a little naively bannering subject text across the street from his school on the occasion of the Olympic Torch passing by and hence high publicity. Given that he was already at odds with what sounds like a classically paranoical half-witted principal, it might not have been his best choice - what about a block away?
Anyway, our species being what it is, often indistinguishable from bullrushes, meerkats, and momeraths, he was suspended for ten days or so and pressed a lawsuit as a result. I can't wholly blame him. But since then things have changed, as Mr. Zimmerman memorably sang for the WonderBoys soundtrack. But I would not have predicted this potentially entertaining outcome:
A free speech case has divided President Bush from key supporters of his base, as many religious rights groups have joined the ACLU and others in defending the rights of high school students, an article in Sunday's New York Times reports.
The case which will be argued in front of the Supreme Court on Monday "has opened an unexpected fissure between the Bush administration and its usual allies among conservative Christian supporters," Linda Greenhouse reports for the Times.
"On the surface, Joseph Frederick's dispute with his principal, Deborah Morse, at the Juneau-Douglas High School in Alaska five years ago appeared to have little if anything to do with religion," Greenhouse writes. "As the Olympic torch was carried through the streets of Juneau on its way to the 2002 winter games in Salt Lake City and as television cameras focused on the scene, Frederick and some friends unfurled a 14-foot-long banner with the inscription: 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus.'"
The principal tore down the sign, after Frederick initially refused her demand to remove the banner, and suspended him for ten days.
"The Bush administration entered the case on the side of the principal and the Juneau School Board," Greenhouse notes.
But, Greenhouse continues, "While it is hardly surprising to find the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Coalition Against Censorship on Frederick's side, it is the array of briefs from organizations that litigate and speak on behalf of generally conservative Christian groups that has lifted Morse v. Frederick out of the realm of the ordinary."
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The groups include the American Center for Law and Justice, founded by the Rev. Pat Robertson, the Christian Legal Society, the Alliance Defense Fund, the Rutherford Institute, which has participated in many religion cases before the court, and Liberty Legal Institute, a nonprofit law firm "dedicated to the preservation of First Amendment rights and religious freedom." The institute, based in Plano, Texas, told the justices in its brief that it was "gravely concerned that the religious freedom of students in public schools will be damaged" if the court rules for the school board.
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I couldn't help but be fascinated when I first read about the SCOTUS case apparently coming around on the turntable tomorrow. That case involves a Juneau, Alaska HS student perhaps a little naively bannering subject text across the street from his school on the occasion of the Olympic Torch passing by and hence high publicity. Given that he was already at odds with what sounds like a classically paranoical half-witted principal, it might not have been his best choice - what about a block away?
Anyway, our species being what it is, often indistinguishable from bullrushes, meerkats, and momeraths, he was suspended for ten days or so and pressed a lawsuit as a result. I can't wholly blame him. But since then things have changed, as Mr. Zimmerman memorably sang for the WonderBoys soundtrack. But I would not have predicted this potentially entertaining outcome:
A free speech case has divided President Bush from key supporters of his base, as many religious rights groups have joined the ACLU and others in defending the rights of high school students, an article in Sunday's New York Times reports.
The case which will be argued in front of the Supreme Court on Monday "has opened an unexpected fissure between the Bush administration and its usual allies among conservative Christian supporters," Linda Greenhouse reports for the Times.
"On the surface, Joseph Frederick's dispute with his principal, Deborah Morse, at the Juneau-Douglas High School in Alaska five years ago appeared to have little if anything to do with religion," Greenhouse writes. "As the Olympic torch was carried through the streets of Juneau on its way to the 2002 winter games in Salt Lake City and as television cameras focused on the scene, Frederick and some friends unfurled a 14-foot-long banner with the inscription: 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus.'"
The principal tore down the sign, after Frederick initially refused her demand to remove the banner, and suspended him for ten days.
"The Bush administration entered the case on the side of the principal and the Juneau School Board," Greenhouse notes.
But, Greenhouse continues, "While it is hardly surprising to find the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Coalition Against Censorship on Frederick's side, it is the array of briefs from organizations that litigate and speak on behalf of generally conservative Christian groups that has lifted Morse v. Frederick out of the realm of the ordinary."
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The groups include the American Center for Law and Justice, founded by the Rev. Pat Robertson, the Christian Legal Society, the Alliance Defense Fund, the Rutherford Institute, which has participated in many religion cases before the court, and Liberty Legal Institute, a nonprofit law firm "dedicated to the preservation of First Amendment rights and religious freedom." The institute, based in Plano, Texas, told the justices in its brief that it was "gravely concerned that the religious freedom of students in public schools will be damaged" if the court rules for the school board.
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posted by Sir Gumbo at 11:02 PM
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