Eat, Pray, Learn
December 9, 2021
The Good News
- Pfizer says booster dose of vaccine protects against omicron variant (NBC)
- Australia joins US in diplomatic boycott of Beijing Games (AP)
“It is precisely that requirement of shared worship that has been the principal source of suffering for individual man and the human race since the beginning of history. In their efforts to impose universal worship, men have unsheathed their swords and killed one another. They have invented gods and challenged each other: ‘Discard your gods and worship mine or I will destroy both your gods and you!’” – Fyodor Dostoevsky
Eat, Pray, Learn
The First Amendment begins with “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion…” and is known as the Establishment Clause. The phrase “separation of church and state” became associated with Thomas Jefferson when he characterized the First Amendment as creating a “wall of separation.” The phrase is often interpreted to mean the Constitution requires the separation of church and state. A justiciable issue frequently arises when public money is seen as somehow benefiting religion, and the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the phrase can be very nuanced.
A 1947 New Jersey statute gave school boards authority to reimburse parents for the cost of busing their children to private schools, including parochial schools. A taxpayer challenged the law as an impermissible expenditure under the establishment clause. SCOTUS concluded the New Jersey statute didn’t breach the “wall of separation” between church and state, and thus it was constitutional. The majority opinion likened school busing to such other general government services as police and fire, and argued the First Amendment “requires the state to be neutral in its relations with groups of religious believers and non-believers.” Dissenting justices said reimbursements for transportation were similar to things like tuition and teacher salaries, and because parochial school is a vital part of Catholicism “to render tax aid to its Church school is indistinguishable…from rendering the same aid to the Church itself.”
A year later, SCOTUS decided that by releasing students early to attend religious services in a public school building, Illinois was using its tax-supported public school system to aid religious instruction, which violated the Constitution. Similarly, New Mexico’s Supreme Court decided in a 1951 case that the employment of nuns, religious brothers, and priests as teachers in publicly funded schools crossed over the “wall of separation.”
In recent years, however, SCOTUS’ conservative majority has been actively removing bricks from that exalted wall between church and state. Several times SCOTUS has upheld state-funded voucher programs for religious schools. Last year, the justices said Montana cannot exclude religious schools from receiving tax credit-funded scholarships under its school choice program. Chief Justice Roberts reasoned that government entities are required to treat religious and non-religious institutions equally — even when that means sending public money to religious institutions — otherwise it’s discriminatory.
And on Wednesday, the court heard arguments in a case from Maine that could expand state aid to religious schools even more. Maine’s rurality means that the state often foots the bill to send a student to a non-sectarian private school out of district when their own district does not have a school for them to attend. This happens often, as half of the state’s districts do not have a public high school. Maine does not pay tuition for students to attend religious schools, but parents are challenging that rule, saying their children’s tuition should be paid the same as non-religious students. The state argues that their tuition program does not discriminate against religious schools, it just won’t pay for them. But the families say that by refusing to pay, they are providing a benefit to non-religious schools, which amounts to discrimination. (MTSU, FindLaw, NPR)
Putin It In Writing
- Before his teleconference with President Biden this week, Russia’s Vladimir Putin traveled to New Delhi on Monday, along with his defense and foreign ministers, for talks with India’s prime minister Narendra Modi. The two leaders signed a flurry of trade and arms deals during the visit, including one that will see India produce more than 600,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles.
- The military and technical cooperation pact will reinforce ties between the two countries until 2031, and promises to boost annual trade to $30 billion by 2025. The U.S., also a key Indian ally, has expressed reservations about the growing military cooperation between Moscow and New Delhi, especially as relations between Moscow and Washington have grown increasingly strained. (CNN)
Bra-sealing Their Fate
- Brazilian health minister Marcelo Queiroga announced Tuesday his government would not be demanding proof of vaccination from visitors coming into the country. The decision sparked anger in a nation that has lost over 615,000 lives to the coronavirus pandemic. President Jair Bolsonaro has been accused of catastrophically mishandling the crisis, and fear is mounting with the advent of the Omicron variant.
- “This government has the policies, the face and the stench of DEATH,” tweeted one politician. Queiroga is a cardiologist who is reportedly plotting to run for office next year, with Bolsonaro’s backing. A newscaster called Queiroga “nothing but a ventriloquist’s dummy for the president.” (Guardian)
Additional World News
- Leaked letter suggests Boris Johnson backed dog and cat airlift from Kabul as Afghans sought refuge (WaPo, $)
- Germany’s Olaf Scholz takes over from Merkel as chancellor (BBC)
- Saudi Arabia says France arrested wrong man over Khashoggi murder (Al Jazeera)
- China is biggest captor of journalists, says report (BBC)
- Christmas party scandal engulfs Britain’s Boris Johnson (WaPo, $)
- Sanna Marin: Finland’s PM sorry for clubbing after Covid contact (BBC)
- Thai construction tycoon jailed for poaching protected animals (Al Jazeera)
- 27,000 trees are cut down each day to meet toilet paper demand, which is 27,000 too many. So, Honeycomb created luxury toilet tissue made from 100% sustainable bamboo. It feels just like regular high-end 3-ply toilet tissue, but doesn’t harm trees.
- Why is bamboo better? It grows 80 times faster than an average tree, creating thousands of rolls in the same time it would take for a single tree to grow back. Honeycomb’s luxurious 3-ply texture is designed to strike the perfect balance between soft & strong, so you don’t have to give up comfort.
- This TP is biodegradable and 100% plastic-free. They’re back in stock right now, and they’ll deliver straight to your doorstep. Use code PNUT25 for 25% off your first shipment for the next 24 hours.
No Longer On Defense
- A compromise version of a massive annual defense bill was released Tuesday after intense negotiations between House and Senate Democrats and Republicans. The fiscal 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) authorizes $770 billion in military spending, $25 billion more than requested by President Biden and 5% more than last year’s budget.
- The bill includes $300 million in increased aid for Ukraine’s military, $7.1 billion for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, and a statement of congressional support for the defense of Taiwan, as well as a ban on the Defense Department procuring products produced with forced labor from China’s Xinjiang region. Also included are a 2.7% pay increase for the troops and more aircraft and Navy ship purchases.
- Some measures were omitted that had strong support in Congress, including a proposal to impose mandatory sanctions over the Russian Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, a plan to subject women to the military draft for the first time, and an amendment that would have banned Americans from purchasing Russian sovereign debt. (Reuters)
A Limitation Of Statues
- For decades, most motorists driving along I-65 have been mad or embarrassed or both by the “statue” of Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate Army general and the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, perched on private property in Nashville, Tennessee. The landowner, Bill Dorris, recently died and left the property to the Battle of Nashville Trust.
- The group said the statue “is ugly” and even its namesake would think so. Plus, Forrest “was not present at the Battle of Nashville,” and the property “has no historical significance.” Over time, the statue was splattered with pink paint and marked with “disapproving” words. The group was quick to remove it after Dorris’s passing.
- In other statue news, the big bronze one of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, which was a focal point in deadly 2017 protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, was taken down in July and will be given to the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center. The school plans to melt the statue down and turn it into a piece of public art. (NBC News, BBC)
Additional USA News
- Why adoption isn’t a replacement for abortion rights (Vox)
- Opening statements to begin Wednesday in trial of former police officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright (WaPo, $)
- House passes new debt ceiling plan after McConnell cuts deal with Democrats (CNN)
- Biden’s Supreme Court commission votes to submit report on reforms (CBS)
- Omicron COVID-19 variant found in 12 states as Delta variant cases are rising (CBS)
- Effort to recall Seattle Councilmember Kshama Sawant leads with 53% in Tuesday night vote count (Seattle Times)
- ‘We’re losing IQ points’: the lead poisoning crisis unfolding among US children (Guardian)
‘Tis The Arson
- A man was arrested on Wednesday after a 50-foot artificial tree outside Fox News’ headquarters in New York City was set on fire. Security spotted Craig Tamanaha, 49, climbing the tree at around midnight. He has been charged with criminal mischief, arson, and reckless endangerment, among other charges.
- Firefighters raced to extinguish the flames, and luckily, nobody was harmed. But the flames understandably drew a great deal of attention, even in the middle of the night, and the on-air host Shannon Bream announced the fire live in a broadcast. The tree had been lit in a ceremony that aired on Sunday.
- Suzanne Scott sent a company-wide memo on Wednesday to assure employees that the scorched tree would be replaced, and condemned the vandalism, saying, “We will not let this deliberate and brazen act of cowardice deter us.” Tamanaha is believed to be unhoused, and police are trying to determine if drugs or alcohol played a part in his decision to light the tree on fire. Decorative trees in both Oakland and Chicago have been victims of arson in recent weeks as well.
Additional Reads
- Company launches 3D, printed, assisted-suicide pod for Swiss (USA Today)
- Pastor who performed in drag on HBO’s ‘We’re Here’ leaves church (NBC)
- Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa soars into space (CNN)
- WHO advises against use of survivors’ plasma to treat COVID (ABC)
- Massive planet found orbiting 2 of the hottest, most massive stars (CNN)
- NASA looks into unusual Mars helicopter communications hiccup during flight (CNET)
- Climate Change May Make Hurricanes Hit Sooner and Last Longer (Wired)