UN CONTROL: A group of liberal Democratic congressmen led by Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (Tex.) sent a letter to the United Nations asking it to monitor this year's U.S. elections. "It is imperative that there be some type of independent monitoring for this fall's election," Johnson said at a July 8 press conference. "The United Nations provides this assistance for other member countries. Why not the United States?. . . We are hoping our action will alleviate the nightmare and the humiliation that many voters suffered at the ballot box and the voting machine during the 2000 election." A dozen congressmen signed the letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who is thought likely to wave aside the congressmen's advice. Letter signer Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D.-N.Y.) was quoted by Roll Call (July 6) as charging that the Bush Administration doesn't care about fair elections. "I certainly do not trust the Bush Administration to be interested in an honest election," he said. In addition to Eddie Bernice Johnson, the signers of the letter were: Corrine Brown (Fla.), Julia Carson (Ind., William Lacy Clay (Mo.), Joseph Crowley (N.Y.), Elijah Cummings (Md.), Danny Davis (Ill.), Raul Grijalva (Ariz.), Michael Honda (Calif.), Barbara Lee (Calif.), Carolyn Maloney (N.Y.), Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.), and Edolphus Towns (N.Y.).
COURT STRIKES AGAIN: The U.S. Supreme Court upheld an injunction against the enforcement of the Child Online Protection Act, which would require pornographers to obtain proof of age before allowing minors to view obscene material over the Internet. The decision was not a final ruling, which will come after more court battles. "While the court hesitates, our kids are hurt by smut online," said Rep. Joe Pitts (R.-Pa.). "Hiding behind the ACLU's perverted interpretation of the 1st Amendment, child predators use obscene images, videos, and text to harm kids and lure them into dangerous situations. The court today turned its back on those kids." Bill Clinton signed the law in 1998 and it has been under judicial attack ever since.
ACADEMIC "FREEDOM": What many citizens consider the most closed-minded, intolerant institutions of mainstream America-her colleges and universities-consistently provide examples of discrimination against conservatives and against Christians. Two instances from the Chronicle of Higher Education: "A professor at the University of Montana has asked the state Board of Regents to reverse a decision by the university's School of Law denying him the opportunity to teach constitutional law. He has accused the law school of discriminating against him for years because of his conservative political views. 'The law school apparently views this course as politically sensitive, and has kept it in liberal hands for over 20 years,' Robert G. Natelson wrote in his complaint to the board, which he filed last month." In the second instance, "An adjunct professor of philosophy at Lakeland Community College has sued the Ohio college, saying it violated his 1st Amendment rights when it punished him for disclosing his religious beliefs to students in class." James G. Tuttle, who is Catholic, noted that an Orthodox rabbi and a nun who wears a habit teach at Lakeland," said the Chronicle.
KEEP MARRIAGE: As controversy among black Americans grows over mainstream black leaders' support for same-sex "marriage," Kenneth Blackwell-as Ohio secretary of state one of the highest black Republican elected officials in the country-recently called on the U.S. Senate to pass a constitutional amendment preserving traditional marriage. "There is a difference between a lifestyle choice and an immutable characteristic like race or ethnicity," the conservative Blackwell told a group of senators in Washington on July 8.
TOO MANY KERRYETTES: According to the New York Post, Teresa Heinz Kerry surprised many of the 1,000 guests at a July 9th Women for Kerry breakfast when she looked out at the crowd and declared, "We had better get you women some birth control, there are so many of you here!"
