A Superintendent Writes... Political Lies / Political Truths - Part 2

In response to the 4/22/15 post, “Political Lies  / Political Truths – Texas Senate Version,” a LYS Superintendent shares the following:

SC,

No doubt the legislature will rely on cases like Everson v. Board of Education, which established that public funds can be used for private/parochial activities if a legitimate government need is fulfilled.

That’s a 1947 case however.

Mark Levin has argued in his book, Men in Black, that the interpretations of the 1st Amendment are so convoluted and contradictory no one knows what is permissible and what is not.

His suggestion is to throw out all case law precedent and start over with the basic 1st Amendment. He farther suggests that our Justices should cease their contortionist tricks when handing down rulings.  

SC Response

A quick three things on the Everson v. BOE case.

1. It applied the Bill of Rights to state law.

2. It allowed the reimbursement of public transportation costs incurred by parents when sending their children to school, any school.

3. Though a split decision, the justices were united in affirming that the 1^st Amendment creates a “wall of separation between church and state.” 

Next, like it or not, I think that we must accept the Court will have to contort itself on some decisions. After all, the Court is applying a 18^th and 19^th Century document to a 21^st Century world. Philosophically, I’m a consistently a strict Constitutionalist, until I’m not.  Which I don't see as overly hypocritical. It’s realistic and recognizes the fact that the world is different than what our Founding Fathers envisioned.  What wears me out is the agenda driven interpretation of the Constitution by our current crop of politicians, which can best be defined as “follow the money” and/or "run to the fringe."      

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